Are Irrfan Khan And Nawazuddin Siddiqui; Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan of Today?

Irrfan Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui come from National School of Drama (NSD), Delhi, where acting is given more preference over looks and style. Hence both had to struggle a lot to make their presence felt in Bollywood.

While Irrfan Khan today is an established actor, Nawazuddin Siddiqui is making waves thanks to the recent success of his film KICK opposite superstar Salman Khan and rave reviews that he is getting for his villainy in BADLAPUR opposite Varun Dhawan. 

Interestingly the two actors worked together in the critically acclaimed film LUNCHBOX and what’s fascinating is that Nawazuddin Siddiqui out beat Irrfan Khan by winning the Best Supporting actor Filmfare Award, while Irrfan left home empty handed.


Thus ever since Nawazuddin Siddiqui has tasted stardom, Irrfan is having a complex. A picture of this complexity was recently visible at the press conference of Irrfan Khan’s upcoming film, QISSA. During the press conference when some reporters consistently quizzed Irrfan to share his experience working with Nawazuddin Siddiqui in LUNCHBOX, Irrfan Khan got aggravated and walked out leaving the media blank. 

A similar cold war was witnessed in the early 70’s when Rajesh Khanna was the superstar and the struggling new comer Amiatbh Bachchan was trying to make his place in Bollywood. The two came face to face in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s ANAND and surprisingly Bachchan gave a tough confrontation and won both critics and movie buff’s acclaim.

What’s more just as Nawazuddin Siddiqui won Filmfare award for Best Supporting actor in LUNCHBOX likewise Amiatbh Bachchan won Best Supporting actor in ANAND thus fuming Rajesh Khanna to no limits. 

What added salt to Khanna’s injuries was that in their next film NAMAK HARAM, where the two actors once again shared the screen, Amitabh Bachchan, yet again out beat Khanna and won the Filmfare Best Supporting actor award!! 

After this the two never shared screen together, while Rajesh Khanna’s ego took him to his downfall, Amitabh Bachchan’s talent made him the superstar! 

One hopes Irrfan Khan learns a lesson!

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