In the 2011 film Dekh Indian Circus, Nawazuddin Siddiqui played the role of a poor, deaf villager who is exploited by his employers. His kids are unhappy because he cannot afford to give them enough money to watch acircus show.

Then in one the most underplayed scenes, Siddiqui quietly seduces his wife played by Tannishtha Chatterjee. No words are spoken, no songs play and there certainly is no loud orchestral score that pushes the audience to sense the emotions being expressed on the scene.

It is unfortunate the Busan Festival Audience Award-winning film was not released in India. Or else no would have a doubt that Siddiqui (recently referred to as an ‘average’ actor) is one of the most romantic and seductive actors of our times.

In India’s new indie cinema, Siddiqui represents a different language of romance that is quietly spoken all the time, but rarely expressed in Bollywood films that continue to insist on loud proclamation of love through musical numbers (not that there is anything wrong with that).

Siddiqui is a rare actor who has appeared in so many indie films that festivals abroad seem flooded with his work. He had two films at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013 (Monsoon Shootout and The Lunchbox) and three in 2012 (Miss Lovely and Gangs of Wasseypur Part 1 and 2). I am certain no other Indian actor has had that kind of success at just one film festival.

Earlier this year in January, the Sundance and the Rotterdam Film Festivals played Liar’s Dicein the competition sections, where Siddiqui plays a drifter who goes on a road trip with a woman, her child and their goat.

Hardly any conversation takes place between Siddiqui and his co-star, Geetanjali Thapa. And there is never any romance expressed in the traditional sense. But as Siddiqui starts to care for Thapa’s Kamla and her daughter, an unspoken love starts to develop, something rarely shown in Indian cinema.

In moments like this I find Siddiqui to be a deeply romantic actor. There are similar touches in Siddiqui’s subplot in The Lunchbox. Everyone seems to remember the film for its heartbreaking romance between its lead actors – Irrfan Khan and Nimrat Kaur. But Siddiqui’s Shaikh – an orphan had eloped with the girl he is in love with. He madly cares for her, values the home that he has put together with her and will eventually marry her, and it will be the most important day of his life.

In a way The Lunchbox is the story about two colleagues – one who is young (Siddiqui), buzzing with energy, aspirations and ready to start a new life, and the other (Khan), who is facing the end of the purpose of his existence and sets out to look for the one last chance of hope.

Siddiqui, the actor does not need any introduction to those who watch Hindi films of all shades and budgets. He acted with Aamir Khan in Talaash and will be seen in Salman Khan’s Kick. And word is that he has replaced Farhan Akhtar in the Shah Rukh Khan film Raees. How many actors get a chance like this within a span of few years, while also continue to act in films such as Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa, directed by one of the most experimental directors of our times, Buddhadev Dasgupta?

But it is the understated romantic actor in Siddiqui who continues to charm us – the shy Faizal Khan of Gangs of Wasseypur,who suddenly grabs Mohsina’s (Huma Qureshi) hand and is scolded by her. Mohsina’s harsh words bring tears to his eyes, but then she offers him a suggestion. He can hold her hands, but he should seek her permission first.

Siddiqui had told me that the incident had actually happened to him and when he narrated it to Anurag Kashyap, the filmmaker decided to include it in his five-hour long magnum opus. Siddiqui’s on-screen romance is definitely of a different brand, but one that many of us can relate to. It speaks of matters of our hearts.