He is one of the most acclaimed actors in Bollywood today but Nawazuddin Siddiqui says he never expected to be famous as he spent the initial period of his career doing C-grade films.
Nawazuddin, who got noticed in Bollywood with Vidya Balan-starrer "Kahaani", said becoming a film actor was not on his mind when he came to Mumbai.
"I did not come here (in Mumbai) thinking of becoming a Bollywood actor. I wanted to do TV. But no one gave me a chance in TV.
"So I started doing C-grade films for 5-6 years... I did one and two scenes roles. I did not dream much as it would have led to disappointment," Nawazuddin said.
The 41-year-old actor, who received rave reviews for his performances in films like "Gangs of Wasseypur", "Talaash" and "Badlapur", said he is happy that he is being accepted by the audience.
"I am happy that people are appreciating my work now. I want to discover life through characters," said the actor.
Even though Nawazuddin has not played lead roles in most of his films, the actor has managed to grab attention with his performances.
"In commercial films, the characters have layers which makes it easy for an actor to do his job," Nawazuddin said.
He will be next seen in "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" and "Manjhi - The Mountain Man".
