'People in industry tell me I deserve leading man roles but no one offers'

MUMBAI: Actor Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub believes even after appreciating his work, storytellers in the film industry find it difficult to take a leap of faith and cast him in leading man roles.

The National School of Drama (NSD) alumnus, who has played a righteous man in his last few projects such as 'Article 15', 'Tandav' and 'Scoop', said he feels boxed in "serious parts".

"There are too many righteous characters that I’ve played (recently). Where my character is the only person, who takes a stand and that he is such a good man. I’m tired of playing these characters. I’m looking forward to playing lead, meaty, and author-backed characters.

"I have not got opportunities that I should have... There are so many directors, co-actors, seniors, and producers, they all say, ‘You deserve it’. Log bolte toh rehte hai but kabhi dete nahi (People keep telling me, but no one offers). This thing disappoints me a bit. I hope I get better opportunities than what I’m getting right now," Ayyub told PTI.

The 39-year-old said he would also like to return to negative characters and comedy -- the two genres he explored in his initial film projects 'No One Killed Jessica' and 'Tanu Weds Manu Returns'.

“I would also love to do comedy. It's been a long time since I haven’t done one. I would love to do a fun character like Chintu ji from ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’.

"If I get a role, where the basic characteristics are new, and something nobody has seen me, I get really happy and excited. That is most important for me,” he added.

Citing the example of his latest film, 'Haddi', which is currently streaming on ZEE5, Ayyub said he was drawn to it because it gave him the opportunity to portray a romantic hero for the first time in his career. The actor played the love interest to Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s transgender character.

"The romantic part was new for me. I’ve never romanced anyone on screen, so that was beautiful,” he said.