These actors, struggled hard and long enough and were seen in tiny roles in their debut films. But soon their roles started bigger and bigger, thanks to their talent. hitlist talks about a few ‘rags’ to riches story...

Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Debut film: Sarfarosh (1999)
The lowdown: Before Nawazuddin became one of the most recognisable faces of independent cinema in India, he starred in movies that gave him very little room to prove his worth as an actor. Playing a criminal in the Aamir Khan-starrer Sarfarosh, he barely had a scene in this crime drama; he then went on to essay a similar role in Munnabhai M.B.B.S. (2003).