Dev Patel,who has won much critical acclaim for his performance in 'Slumdog Millionaire' said he landed the role after director Danny Boyle could not find an Indian actor to play the young slumdweller Jamaal. "Most Indian actors of my age want to be Bollywood stars,so they spend their time honing their bodies for beefcake roles. Danny wanted someone ordinary,like me. So that's how I found myself in the lead," said the young star in an interview with 'Daily Mail.' Patel,who is a British citizen of Indian origin,plays the lead in the film along with with Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor and Irrfan Khan. This is Patel's first film and the actor,who according to Boyle has the potential to be the 'next Michael Sheen',said that he didn't think he stood a chance at getting the role while auditioning. "I'm as bewildered and starstruck as any other teenager could get in the situation I am in now," he said. And with 'Slumdog' Patel has been removed from obscurity and is on a head long journey to fame and fortune as the film is on a award winning spree. It has already bagged 5 Golden Globe nominations. "I've been living two different lives," said Patel,adding that his family helps him keep grounded. "By day,I've got the leading role in a movie,in spite of having no acting training and very little experience. "And at night I go home and my mum is telling me to make my bed,keep my room tidy and help with the washing-up. It keeps my feet on the ground,stops me from letting it all go to my head," he said. Patel said that his Indian sojourn was a unique learning experience. "I got to see places that you don't get to see being stuck in an air-conditioned hotel. I had to de-British myself. I got to see a slum called Dharavi,which has a population of two million people.This whole experience has made me appreciate my own comfortable life a lot more." But despite the immense success that has come his way,the young actor says that his life has not changed the way people suppose it did. "I am a normal kid. I travel by public transport. I do the same things I've always done,have the same friends. Nothing has changed," Patel said.
