“Raman Raghav landed me in hospital” – Nawazuddin Siddiqui

By Subhash K. Jha -

June 21, 2016 - 10:58 AM IST

In his 13-year long career so far, the remarkably gifted Nawazuddin Siddiqui has played some of the most complex characters, but none as emotionally and physically exhausting as Raman Raghav, the real-life serial killer from the 1960s who bludgeoned at least 40 people to death before being apprehended.

“Raman Raghav landed me in hospital” – Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Playing this cold blooded psychotic criminal was a killer for Nawaz.

Speaking out emotionally against the burden of method acting Nawaz says,

"Every time I spoke those despicable lines of Raman and carried out his horrible acts of violence I felt unclean compromised...something died inside me. How could I be speaking and acting on behalf of a man so reprehensible?"

The character made Nawaz physically ill.

"I ended up in hospital. I felt I was suffocating from inside. One day I just fell unconscious while doing a scene. When I was taken to hospital I was told I was muttering Raman Raghav's lines in my semi-conscious state."

Never again will Nawaz play a character so depraved and violent.

His emotional and physical condition after playing Raman Raghav is very similar to what Nawaz's idol Dilip Kumar went through after playing the maniacally depressive Devdas. The mighty Thespian had to seek psychiatric help to snap out of his suicidal melancholy.

Says Nawaz,

"I am aware of what Dilip Saab went through. After Devdas he played light-hearted roles inAzad and Kohinoor. After Raman Raghav I am doing Sohail Khan's Ali which is a complete stress-bust"er for me".