While artistes come with a dream of becoming lead actors, many of them achieve fame doing side roles and become stars. One such actor, who has risen to fame doing supporting roles in films, was once left with no money after being scammed in Mumbai.
The actor we are talking about has worked with superstars like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, and Manoj Bajpayee. He started his career with back-to-back hits but never became a lead actor. He is Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub.
Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub came to Mumbai with his wife at the age of 24. They came to Mumbai with Rs 40,000, however, a broker scammed them by taking three months rent and after this they were left with no money. In an interview with Siddharth Kanan, he said, "We have seen the phase of no money, almost zero money. We got married at 24, so we were very naive. We thought Rs 40,000 will be enough to survive in Mumbai. It got over on the second day in deposit and rent. We saw that time together, but I don’t remember us ever being sad. It was a one-room house, we would still have fun, and friends would come over for tea. Now the house is bigger, but evenings are still for tea and friends."
Recalling being scammed by a broker, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub said, "It was a tiny house, with a terrace, where we would just dry clothes and use it for nothing else. He took our money, so we were actually down to zero money in the city. I remember once we were sitting together and laughing, thinking hum kitne bewakoof hai, kya sochke aagaye hai, what will happen now? Actor Vineet Kumar was the one to help, he figured we were new and perhaps didn’t have money."
He added, "He asked me if I know how to teach acting and then said someone is keen to open an acting school, so I should write a syllabus of three months and give it to him. I wrote it overnight and then Vineet bhai asked me to get a printout of it and submit it to the man. I didn’t even have Rs 2 for the printout, so we searched for coins in the house and somehow managed to find them. I submitted the syllabus, and the man handed me Rs 1500 cash. That’s how we started."
Zeeshan made his grand Bollywood debut in a negative role in Rani Mukerji's No One Killed Jessica. He then went on to star in hits like Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, Jannat 2, Raanjhanaa, Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, and Article 15. He even featured in movies like Thugs of Hindostan starring Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan, Tubelight starring Salman Khan, and Raees starring Shah Rukh Khan.
However, Zeeshan got his biggest commercial success with Kangana Ranaut, Jimmy Shergill, and R Madhavan's Tanu Weds Manu Returns. The film turned out to be a blockbuster making Zeeshan a star in Bollywood. He is now recognized as one of the finest actors in the industry.
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