In Mumbai’s Versova, stands a stunning white bungalow that belongs to Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui. 

The actor has come a long way from doing small roles and sharing a small apartment with three other struggling actors to becoming one of the most bankable stars who now owns a house in the city of dreams. 

© Instagram/Nawazuddin Siddiqui

He recently opened up about what his early days in Mumbai looked like when he shared a small space with a bunch of other men. And, it’s nothing but a testimony of how he’s made it big. “Aaj jitna bada mera personal bathroom hai, utna sa mera ghar hua karta tha (Today my bathroom is as big as the house I once lived in),” he recalled in an interview with Bombay Times.  

© BCCL

He said, “When I moved to Mumbai, I stayed in such a small place, which I shared with four other budding actors. Woh kamra itna chhota tha ki agar main door kholu toh kisi ke pairon mein lag jata tha (That room was so small that if you opened the door, it hit someone's feet), because, we all used to lay our beds on the floor when we slept there. Dheere dheere (Gradually, with time), I started sharing my room with three people, then with two, and it is only from 2005 that I started living alone.”

© Instagram/Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Siddiqui named his bungalow ‘Nawab’ after his father’s name to honour him but he, unfortunately, passed away before he could see the lavish house his son had built. 

He said, “Unka mann Mumbai ke ghar mein nahi lagta tha (He didn't like the flats of Mumbai). So, I always had this thing in my mind that I would get him to a bigger place in Mumbai one day, but he passed away before that. I wish my dad could see this bungalow.”

© BCCL

He didn’t even intend on building the house that he owns today. In an interview with Hindustan Times, he said, "To tell you the truth, I didn’t consciously plan that I want a new house. Ghar hona chahiye — iss concept mein mera belief hi nahi tha (I didn't have belief in the concept that one should have a house). Someone showed me the plot, so I thought let’s do it no harm. Things kept happening.” 

© Instagram/Nawazuddin Siddiqui

The fact that he came all the way from living in a cramped space to building his own villa in a posh locality in Mumbai speaks of his success. However, what’s more inspirational and commendable is that he has not forgotten the time he was just an aspiring actor and now looks back at the struggling time, sitting in his grandeur bungalow.

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