During the promotional campaign for Mom, Nawazuddin Siddiqui shared an amusing anecdote from his dating days that involved fellow actor Akshaye Khanna.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui on Akshaye Khanna
Whether for Dhurandhar’s box office success or his shocking exit from Drishyam 3, Akshaye Khanna has been grabbing major headlines. His performance as Rehman Dakait in Aditya Dhar-directed spy thriller has drawn widespread praise from within the industry as well. Among the many accolades he has received over the years is a memorable remark by Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who once said in an interview that Khanna’s popularity was such that it often worked against him, joking that he lost out on several romantic prospects because women admired the Taal actor instead.
While promoting their film Mom, Sridevi, Akshaye Khanna and Nawazuddin Siddiqui interacted with NDTV, during which Nawaz shared a candid anecdote from his bachelor days. The actor recalled facing repeated rejection while searching for a partner, humorously attributing it to the fact that many women were enamoured of Khanna instead. As Nawaz narrated the story, a soft-spoken Khanna listened quietly, while Sridevi and the studio audience broke into laughter.
Nawazuddin said, “I want to share this one thing with everyone. Before I was married, I was trying very hard to court someone. I would try to talk to girls, but they all used to reject me. So I asked all of them, ‘What kind of a man do you like?’ and I am honestly telling you that all those girls were his (Khanna’s) fans. I used to ask them, ‘What’s so special about him?’ Someone used to talk about his smile, or someone would start talking about his eyes. He had a weird hold on women, and he had a big fan following.”
Nawazuddin telling Akshaye about his huge female fan following & Akshaye aura Farming as usual
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Akshaye jumped in and said, “I had?”, prompting Nawaz to quickly change his remark. The Sacred Games actor clarified that the admiration remains intact, adding that Khanna’s limited film appearances are the only reason audiences do not see more of him on screen, and that he should take up more projects for his fans. Akshaye responded by laughing off the compliment as Nawaz concluded, “All of those fans, and everyone else, want Akshaye Khanna to work again. He doesn’t show up a lot, and he is very choosy about his work. Hamari dua hai (it’s our wish) that he does more films.” The viral video has resurfaced on Reddit.
