It is a story worthy of a Bollywood plot: the son of a north Indian farmer, one of nine children, rising to become one of the new faces of independent Hindi cinema. (Also Read: Don't Let go of Uniqueness: Nawazuddin Siddiqui to Newcomers)
But Nawazuddin Siddiqui is still getting used to his success. "When someone is looking at me, I feel they are looking at someone standing behind me, not at me," the 40-year-old said during an interview at a Mumbai hotel.
"I have not got used to it and I won't allow myself to feel like a star."
Winning awards for his roles in internationally-feted films such as Gangs of Wasseypur in 2012 and The Lunchbox the following year, Mr Siddiqui has become one of India's most respected actors.
But he faced years of struggle and bit parts, often earning little cash, before he really became established.
"I am a five-foot six-inch, dark, ordinary-looking man. People didn't imagine that I would make it," he said."It is the mindset of our country too, that people like (me) don't become stars. Maybe it's a result of 200 years of colonial rule."
But three years later he just has to pick up the phone, and when he comes for this interview, he is accompanied by a manager, a valet and a publicist.
He will appear with Salman Khan in upcoming romantic drama Bajrangi Bhaijaan, and with Shah Rukh Khan in Raees, in which he plays a cop who is chasing the star's mafia character.
"I am very proud of the films I am doing here because they are of an international standard," he said.
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