Being a celebrity and getting into controversies go hand in hand. While most try to avoid it, some celebrities choose to walk right into controversies, and Rishi Kapoor was one such actor. Known for his no-filter statements, Rishi Kapoor often spoke his mind, saying things as they were. And he made one such blunt remark for a fellow actor. Kapoor didn’t just question this man’s abilities – he publicly claimed he lacked both talent and image. “You don’t have the image; you don’t have the talent,” the veteran star had said. But who was he talking about? Read on to find out.

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“You don’t have the image; you don’t have the talent.”

Back when Kapoor made this statement about the actor, it might not have shocked people because the latter wasn’t quite the star he is now. But hindsight, as they say, is a delightful storyteller. The actor in question? He’s now one of the most critically acclaimed and widely respected performers in Indian cinema. It is none other than Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

A far cry from your typical Bollywood hero, Nawaz’s beginnings were humble, to say the least. He entered Bollywood not with a bang but with tiny, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it roles, starting with Sarfarosh in 1999. He appeared in films like Shool, Jungle, and Munnabhai MBBS, slowly building a portfolio few took notice of until Peepli Live, where he played a journalist and caught everyone’s attention.

Then came the storm: Kahaani, Gangs of Wasseypur, The Lunchbox, Manjhi – The Mountain Man, and Bajrangi Bhaijaan, each one further solidifying his place as a master of his craft. But in the earlier years, when Nawaz commented on how Bollywood’s romantic heroes were trapped in a time loop of “running around trees” and performing one-dimensional love stories, it ruffled feathers. And Rishi Kapoor, once the poster boy for filmy romance, took it personally. In response, Kapoor said, “You haven’t done it in your life; neither will you get a chance to do it. And you aren’t capable of doing it either. You don’t have the image; you don’t have the talent.”

Cut to now, and Nawaz’s rise reads like the ultimate underdog triumph. No industry godfathers, no conventional looks, no nepotism-powered launches, just pure, relentless talent. Not only has he proven Kapoor’s words wrong, but he’s also surpassed many of his contemporaries in acclaim and versatility.
Interestingly, despite the tension, Rishi Kapoor and Nawazuddin Siddiqui eventually shared screen space in the movie Manto, where Kapoor made a cameo appearance.

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