After graduating from National School of Drama (NSD) and moving to Mumbai, Nawaz made his debut in Sarfarosh (1999). He appears in one scene, sobbing and pleading as he is interrogated by Aamir Khan
In Munna Bhai M.B.B.S, he appears as the pickpocket at the railway station. He’s lectured, and then let off, by Sunil Dutt.Another great interrogation scene in Black Friday (2007). Using short, stuttered phrases, Nawaz conveys a history of submission.The desert charm of Manorama Six Feet (2007) was brought alive by the animal duo of Nawazuddin and Jogi Mallang.Nawaz rolled as one of the Patna Ke Presleys in Dev D (2009). A version of the character reappears in Mukkabaaz.Squeezed among greats, Nawaz stood out as a rural stringer in Peeli Live (2010).As IB officer Khan, Nawaz was a sturdy presence in Kahaani (2011). Director Rahul Dholakia, who later cast him as a cop in Raees, must have taken notes.The second film was his breakout. But notice young Faizal in Gangs of Wasseypur, quiet and withdrawn, waiting to pounce.“I do business,” insists Purandar in Dibakar Banerjee’s segment in Bombay Talkies (2013). You know he’s lying — to himself and to others.Irrfan’s wintriness in The Lunchbox is broken by a sweetly persistent Nawaz. It’s two masters on opposite wheels.Chand Nawab, a harried TV reporter in Pakistan, meets an odd pair from across the border. Moved by their journey, he proceeds to move the world.“Bhagwan ka CCTV camera hoon mein,” says Sindhi Dalwai in Raman Raghav 2.0. The god-complex only got bigger in Sacred Games.As the great Indo-Pakistani writer, Nawaz bears the crushing weight of time in Nandita Das’ Manto. A career-best.Nawaz has a loaded name in Photograph (2019) — Rafi — the singer of dreams. To Miloni (Sanya Malhotra), he’s both a relic and a liberator.Unpopular opinion, but Ganesh Gaitonde is way more intriguing in Sacred Games season 2. We meet him snappy and less in control, a rancid fish out of water.