Zeeshan Ayyub on playing Aamir, SRK and Salman's on-screen BFF

Zeeshan Ayyub with Shah Rukh Khan in Zero

Call it coincidence or the result of being a talented artiste, but Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub has earned the distinction of playing best friend to the three Khans - Shah Rukh, Aamir and Salman. The recent release, Zero, has him essay Shah Rukh's confidant, Guddu Singh. Only a month-and-a-half earlier, Ayyub was Aamir's partner-in-crime, Shanichar, in Thugs Of Hindostan. Not to mention, last year's release Tubelight that saw him share screen space with Salman.

Ayyub with Salman in Tubelight

"I have been there, done that," he says of his association with Bollywood's top trio. While many would be intimidated to feature in the same frame as one of the Khans, the National School of Drama graduate has no apprehensions. "How will I act if I'm intimidated? They are also playing roles. When the camera is switched on, it is only character play at work."

Ayyub with Aamir in Thugs...

The actor has carved a niche for himself in the seven years since his underrated debut in No One Killed Jessica (2011). He attributes it to the increasing power of writers and directors who are no longer obsessed with six-pack abs heroes. "They are looking for real human beings on screen. Earlier, we used to have a colonial hangover about a certain physicality that actors should have, the kind of hair or skin colour they should have. But the demand for such actors is gradually diminishing.

Today, even the leading stars want to play characters; they are looking for scripts to showcase their acting," says Ayyub, who will next be seen in Kangana Ranaut's Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi.

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