For me to get a lead role in a real movie is something to jump at. It's not like I get to do that all of the time.
I've probably had my best time acting - or not acting, or trying to not act - on things like 'The Low Down' or 'Treacle Jr.' I'm happiest doing things like that. Not just because they're lead roles, but because there's more freedom in them.
I wish I could play the lead role in one movie, one great movie.
It's rare to see a person of colour in a lead role. It does matter to a lot of people.
By the time I was 10, I was doing plays for Phoenix theater. My first lead role was as the Stinky Cheese Man. I got a taste of the limelight, and I just couldn't stop. It was a way for me to be the artistic, geeky kid that I was, and not get beat up.
I said I would like to do some theatre, so people started searching for some jobs for me, and I didn't think it would be the lead role in 'Equus.'
Now, there doesn't have to necessarily be a white man in the lead role. That's the way forward. That's diversity. It's cool if an Indian is playing the lead role in a Hollywood project, and we should be proud of this.
'Fukrey' was a major turning point of my career because it was post this film that I started getting lead roles in films like 'Bobby Jasoos.'
It never really worked out for me in my own country. They said, 'You're not famous enough for the lead roles, and you're too present for the supporting roles - you'd overpower the lead.'
I was auditioned for 'Sultan' for the lead role in 2015. My auditions were very detailed as it was for the female lead. They took around 10-11 auditions for it in the span of 2 weeks. It was very hectic and tiring for me.
