Mumbai: Some carry their ego around and some don't. But it's rare to see good actors come without one. Zakir Hussain, who played Shardul in Johnny Gaddar, is one such actor.

He's a fine character actor who has no issues about the length of a role. Most people don't remember his name, but the face stays with you, as do the characters he plays on screen.

They're calling him Shardul on the streets after his marvellous performance in Johnny Gaddar. Because he stands out even in films that don't, we think he's the Next Big Thing

Hussain says, “I never thought that I should do this and should not do that. Whatever work came my way, I did. And it worked for me”

That's the philosophy Zakir Hussain lives by. And it's helped him, too. From someone with no Bollywood connections to boast of to being one of the most popular character actors, he's clearly come a long way.

Born and raised in Meerut, Zakir passed out of Delhi's National School of Drama in 1993.

After a few years as a theatre actor, he moved to Mumbai to try his luck in movies. He eked out a living doing roles in television serials, until he got his big break with Ek Hasina Thi in 2004.

Zakir appeared in all of two scenes in the film, but the producer, Ramgopal Varma, was so impressed that he immediately offered Zakir a role in Sarkaar.

Ramgopal also asked him to demonstrate how he'd enact the role.

“I went after 15 days. I went with four different characterisations and different designs of clothes. He liked it in the first look and then it went on and on,” the actor recalls.

The floodgates then opened. Ramgopal cast him in almost every film he produced thereafter — Vaastu Shastra, James, Shiva, Darna Zaroori Hai, Darwaza Bandh Rakho and most recently in Darling.

Many of the films didn't do well but Zakir made his presence felt. He had been cast most often as the bad guy, but Zakir feels his comic streak is yet to be tapped.

His answer to skeptics is, “If you don’t think I can do comedy, you’ll believe me only when I work with you.”

That thirst for comedy will be quenched when Zakir starts shooting for Sanjay Chhel's Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam, which also stars Mallika Sherawat.

In the pipeline are Rakesh Roshan's Krazy Four, Tigmanshu Dhulia's Shagird and films by debutant directors, Toss and Allah Ke Bande .

For Zakir, Johnny Gaddar has not just brought decent pay cheques but also fame.

“The movie posters of Darwaza Bandh Rakho was pasted on the wall outside my Delhi house. My father was going somewhere along with a couple of friends. So he was like, ‘pehchano kaun hai, pehchano kaun hai' (do you recognise who it is)?”

Few would know that Zakir is a talented musician, too. Not only is he a skilled percussionist, he sings as well. Now that's a whole bunch of skills still waiting to be tapped.