Nawazuddin Siddiqui's Casting Director Claims He Never Said 'Fair And Handsome'

New Delhi: After actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui tweeted obliquely about racism in Bollywood yesterday, the casting director to whom he is believed to have been responding has said he was 'misquoted' in an interview. Speaking to news agency PTI, Sanjay Chouhan said, "I was completely misquoted. All I said was the film needed actors as good as Nawazuddin. You need actors who could match his stature. I don't know from where the 'fair and handsome' bit came but I never said the words." Mr Chouhan also said that he "would never hurt Nawaz sir," whom he had not yet spoken to, and that he was "deeply saddened by how the comments, which (he) never made in the first place, turned out."

Yesterday, Nawazuddin Siddiqui tweeted this:
 

Thank U 4 making me realise dat I cannot b paired along wid d fair & handsome bcz I m dark & not good looking, but I never focus on that.

— Nawazuddin Siddiqui (@Nawazuddin_S) July 17, 2017

In subsequent interviews, the actor refused to provide context to his tweet but did say it was a response to somebody or something. It is thought to be a reaction to Sanjay Chouhan, quoted by Deccan Chronicle as saying, "We can't cast fair and handsome people with Nawaz. It would look so weird. You have to take people with distinct features and personalities when pairing them with him." Mr Chouhan is the casting director on Nawazuddin's upcoming film Babumoshai Bandookbaaz.

Speaking to NDTV after posting the tweet, Nawazuddin Siddiqui said that it is not just Bollywood which fixates on skin colour. In his village, his acting ambition was dismissed because of the way he looks, the actor said.

Bias against colour has been flagged recently by actors Tannishtha Chatterjee, who left a comedy show midway over jokes on her complexion, and Abhay Deol, who collated a series of advertisements for fairness products featuring colleagues such as Shah Rukh Khan and Sonam Kapoor.

(With inputs from PTI)