Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub opens up about his journey in Bollywood: 'There's a big problem of class and racism in the industry'

With his outstanding performances. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub has always proved his worth in the industry. He is one of Bollywood's most gifted and underappreciated actors in the industry. The actor has received appreciation for a number of his supporting roles in movies, be it Raanjhana, Jogi, Tanu Weds Manu or Tandav, the actor always stood out with his work. 

However, the actor believes that with Hansal Mehta's recently release web series ‘Scoop,’ he has finally achieved the success that he deserves. He also spoke about the issue of racism in the entertainment industry.

Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub told ETimes, “It has been quite a journey for me. All I can say is, it’s been a rollercoaster ride, and also a great fun ride, an adventurous ride. Often I felt I was appreciated. Then there were times when I felt I didn’t get the appreciation I deserve. But then there were also times I felt I got more recognition for a performance than I deserved. Yeah, it’s been quite an experience. I just hope my graph moves forward.”

Speaking about his role in "Scoop" and the reason he had previously only been given ruralized roles, the actor responded, “Yes of course. It is really strange that I never got to play an urban, sophisticated character before this. Often I would suggest some changes to make the character more interesting. The director would shoot them down saying, ‘Let it be the way it is. You are playing a character from a particular section.’ In our industry and society at there is is a big problem of class and racism. We are compartmentalized into different classes according to our skin colour.”

The versatile actor portrays a newspaper's editor-in-chief in the Netflix series, Scoop which is based on the book ‘Behind Bars in Byculla: My Days in Prison’, directed by Hansal Mehta and starring Karishma Tanna. After Shahid (2013) and Chhalaang (2020), this is Ayyub’s third project with Mehta.

The crime drama series Scoop is helmed by Hansal Mehta. On June 2, 2023, the television show started streaming on Netflix. Karishma Tanna, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Harman Baweja, Tannishtha Chatterjee, and Deven Bhojani all play leading roles in the ensemble.