Married Actor Wrote About Affair With Co-Star In Memoir, Was Accused Of Hiding Marriage, Later Withdrew Book

Last Updated: September 22, 2026, 10:20 IST

1 / 8 Nawazuddin Siddiqui wrote in An Ordinary Life about his relationship with his Miss Lovely co-star Niharika Singh. He described their first intimate encounter in unusually graphic detail, writing that he went to her home, where candles were lit and she was wearing faux fur, before they became intimate. He claimed the relationship eventually lasted around a year and a half. Niharika, however, later said their relationship lasted less than a few months and accused him of fabricating and manipulating parts of their story.

2 / 8 One of the most controversial revelations was that Nawazuddin was married during the period he described as his relationship with Niharika. In interviews after the memoir's excerpts were published, Niharika said she discovered only later that he had a wife in his village and claimed he had never told her about his marriage. Nawazuddin's memoir presented the relationship from his own perspective, including his claim that it lasted nearly one and a half years.

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3 / 8 Nawazuddin was remarkably blunt about his own behaviour in relationships. In An Ordinary Life, he described himself as a “selfish bas***d” and wrote that the women he had been with had the same complaint: that he would come to them primarily for his own needs. While recalling his relationship with Niharika, he wrote that he mainly wanted to go to her home, make out and leave, eventually realising that she saw him as someone who cared only about himself.

4 / 8 The memoir contained another unusually candid description of Nawazuddin himself. Recalling the beginning of his relationship with Niharika, he described himself as a “lusty village bumpkin” while recounting their first intimate encounter. The passage became one of the most widely reported excerpts from An Ordinary Life, partly because of how explicitly the actor described a relationship with a co-star. Niharika later strongly disputed his version of events and said the account had been published without her knowledge or consent. Pic: Instagram

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5 / 8 The controversy around Niharika was only one part of An Ordinary Life. The memoir contained revelations about Nawazuddin's romantic life, including multiple affairs and one-night stands. The book was marketed as an unusually candid account of his journey from a struggling actor to a recognised star, but its chapters about his relationships quickly became the most controversial part of the memoir. Pic: Instagram

6 / 8 Nawazuddin also admitted that he knew the memoir could upset people but chose to name names anyway. Before the book was withdrawn, he said he believed there was little point in writing a memoir if he was not going to tell what he considered the truth. He acknowledged that people could be angry with him, but said he had spent considerable time deciding whether to name people and ultimately chose to do so. Pic: Instagram

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7 / 8 Niharika was not the only woman mentioned in the memoir to object to Nawazuddin's portrayal of their relationship. Sunita Rajwar, another former girlfriend discussed in the book, publicly criticised his account and accused him of selfishness and sharing private details of their relationship. Her reaction added another layer to the controversy surrounding An Ordinary Life, which had only just been released when the backlash began. Pic: Instagram