Darshan Kumar, who made his Bollywood debut with Priyanka Chopra-starrer 'Mary Kom', wants to work with veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah, under whom he honed his acting skills.
Darshan, who is working with Shah's acting group since five years, credits his entry in Bollywood to the theatre experience he had with his mentor.
"Since the time I thought about acting, I wanted to be in Naseeruddin Shah's group but I knew it was not easy to get there. So many aspiring actors want to be a part of it. I met him many times, he liked my work and then I joined his group. It's because of my theatre performances and whatever I learnt from him that I bagged films," Darshan told PTI.
"My dream is to work with him, he is my guru. If that happens, it will be the most amazing thing," he said, adding that Shah was happy with his debut where he plays Mary's husband, K Onler Kom.
"When I told him I got 'Mary Kom' and I will play the boxer's husband in the biopic, he told me it was a nice role. He told me 'do good work else wait for good things to come to you, but don't compromise on quality'," Darshan said.
"That was my biggest gift when he said he found my performance natural. I could achieve this without meeting him even once before the film was shot, means a lot. Also Sanjay Sir (Bhansali) loved me in the film," Darshan said.
The actor is also upbeat as his next film is with actress Anushka Sharma. Darshan says his role in 'NH 10' is completely different from his debut character.
"'NH 10' has me in gray shades, it's complete opposite of Onler Kom's character. The film has a lot of action and I am so excited because I want to try every genre, every kind of film, be it commercial or serious. I want to be a versatile performer," said Darshan.
The Omung Kumar-directed movie released today in theatres.
