Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui remembered the time when Kamal Haasan's Hey Ram was axed, and how distraught he was about it. Nawaz said he was consoled by Kamal's daughter, Shruti. He said that although from his earliest days in the film industry when his roles were cut from projects, there have been several such incidents, Hey Ram hurt the most because of how much he respected Kamal. In an interview, he said, "There were several occurrences when I did small roles and then the role was edited out." But the one incident that remains with me includes Kamal Haasan, one of my idols. For his movie Hey Ram (2000), which he directed and also played the lead, I was his Hindi dialogue coach. I was as enthusiastic as a child when Kamalji offered me a small role in Hey Ram. He, alongside Dilip Kumar, Naseeruddin Shah, Anthony Hopkins and Denzel Washington, is one of my idols. I've seen every one of their films twice.

Nawaz continued, "It was actually a significant role in defining his role, I was supposed to be the victim of a mob attack that Kamalji rescues. I was excited about this chance to share screen space with my hero." But Nawaz said he "wept bitterly" when the part was cut from the final film and recalls Shruti consoling him. But, said the actor, he doesn't have any ill will, “How could I be resentful? With his experience going well beyond that, Kamalji is such a full artist. Unka toh mujhe naam bhil lene mein hichkichaahat hoti hai (I hesitate to even say his name).”

In Aamir Khan's Sarfarosh and Sanjay Dutt's Munna Bhai MBBS, Nawaz appeared in small roles before breaking out with Anurag Kashyap's Gangs of Wasseypur. This year, Nawaz has had streaming launches back-to-back. He appeared in the long delayed Ghoomket, the mystery of Honey Trehan's assassination, Raat Akeli Hai, and the Serious Men of Sudhir Mishra.