Separated at birth: MSK Prasad, Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Our newest entry in the list of doppelgangers involves the Chairman of Selectors of the Indian cricket team and a much-respected Bollywood actor. MSK Prasad was technically not the first Andhra cricketer to play Test cricket (Vijay Manjrekar played Tests during his Andhra stint), but he was certainly the first local. Prasad was one of the many wicketkeepers India had tried out between Nayan Mongia and MS Dhoni. Prasad played 6 Tests and 17 ODIs for India between 1997-98 and 1999-00. He had 36 dismissals, opened batting, and once top-scored with 63 against South Africa. However, he has been in the news in his current stint as Chairman of Selectors. Also read: Shikhar Dhawan and a technician from Kannada film industry

Nawazuddin Siddiqui had languished in obscurity in Bollywood for years, moving from one cameo to another. The controversy around Black Friday (2007) meant that the movie, and hence Siddiqui’s performance as Asgar Mukadam, went largely unnoticed by the mass. The industry first took notice of him for his portrayal of Zilgai in Kabir Khan’s New York (2009). In 2010 he played Rakesh Kapoor in Anusha Rizvi’s Peepli Live. Within two years he was elevated to the status one of India’s finest contemporary actors. An Ordinary Life: A Memoir, his ghost-written autobiography, is making headlines these days.

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