Nawazuddin Siddiqui is currently promoting his new film Main Actor Nahi Hoon. It has been directed by Aditya Kripalani and stars Chitrangada Satarupa in a leading role. His character in the film goes through bouts of emotions and talks about depression are relevant in the narrative. With regards to it, we asked Nawaz about his take on mental health and whether he has ever been to therapy.
Opening up on what having mental health challenges meant to him at a young age, Nawazuddin said, “Main sach bataun? Hum jis jagah se aatein hain… chhote se gaon se aatein hain. Wahan isko itni badi problem nahi mana jata tha. ‘Mood kharab’ bolte thhe usko. Iska mood kharab hai, do ek din mein theek ho jayega. Aisa karte thhe. Bacche ke andar kuch, ya young ladke ke andar kuch ho raha hai. Toh iss cheez ki koi khas parwa nahi karta thha. Sab chhod dete thhe. Kisiko pata hee nahi aur maaloom hee nahi kya hain ye. Sab bolte thhe, ‘Haan, thoda sa low feel kar raha hai. Bas itna hi hain.’ Toh main us jagah se aaya hoon. (Should I reveal the truth? We come from a small village. It isn’t considered a big problem there. They call it ‘bad mood.’ They say that someone’s mood is off, it’ll be okay in two to three days. They do this. They say something is happening to the kid or the young person. Nobody cares about these things there. Everyone would let things be. Nobody knows or understands what it is. Everyone says, ‘Yes, they are feeling a bit low. That’s all.’ I have come from that place.)”
He further added, “Yahan aane ke baad, depression yah woh anxiety, in sabki goliyan, prescriptions aur yeh sab samajh raha thha. Wo ek course hota hai uska. Main sach bataun, main toh darr gaya thha. Ye bhi ek tarah ki cheez hain? Of course, dangerous hain. Maine socha, chalo abhi tak toh humein pata nahi tha. Ab pata chala kitna dangerous hain ye. Ye saari cheezein aise sikhaate hain. Aur life ko na bohot zyada seriously lena nahi chahiye. Khudko bhi zyada seriously lena nahi chahiye. Serious logon ko bohot zyada problems hone lagti hain. Main toh khudko seriously bilkul na loon. Main kabhi apne aap ko, mere acting ko, or as a human being, seriously nahi leta hoon. (When I came here, I learnt about depression, anxiety, medicines and prescriptions. I was trying to understand all that. There is a course as well. Let me be honest, I was scared. I realised this is also important. Of course, this is dangerous. I did not know about this earlier but, now I know how dangerous this is. These things are taught here. Also, you should not take life so seriously. You should not take yourself so seriously. Serious people go through a lot of problems. I don’t take myself seriously.)”
Main Actor Nahin Hoon is releasing on May 8, 2026 in theatres.
Also Read: Nawazuddin Siddiqui Expresses Concern Over Extreme Phase Of Negative Paid PR In Bollywood
