Vishal Patel in Ranchi. Picture by Prashant Mitra

It is a rag-to-riches story that the world might not even remember. On the big screen this 18-year-old twinkle eyed teen is set to play a two-minute cameo as the sidekick of the villain. But off it, he will be remembered as a crusading hero, someone who looked poverty in the eye, battled it with his honest efforts and won over it.

Meet Ranchi’s Gurucharan Mahto, alias Vishal Patel. A newspaper hawker by profession, Mahto is all set to live his dream of becoming a professional actor in Iqbal Durani’s Phool aur Kante-II as a junior artiste by dint of his continuous effort. The film goes on the floor in December-end this year.

A successful student ofRajkiya Uchcha Vidyalaya of Ramgarh district, Mahto has been signed up as a junior artiste in three other Hindi films Underworld Don, Gandhi Se Pahle Gandhi and Ganga Ki Saugandh besides Phool aur Kante-II.

The budding talent from the state in a tête-à-tête with The Telegraph on Monday shared his ambitions, and how he achieved his long cherished dream of hitting the silver screen.

“Although I always wanted to become an actor I never thought that I would be signed to play cameos in so many films. I guess luck favoured me somewhere in achieving my dreams,” Mahto said.

Giving details of his other roles, he said that he would be playing a domestic help in Underworld Don and would essay the character of a beggar in Ganga Ki Saugandh. Though his role in Gandhi Se Pahle Gandhi will also be that of a family member of the hero, Mahto is not cribbing.

“I am very happy to be taking my first steps in Bollywood,” he told The Telegraph.

Youngest among his three siblings, Mahto has earlier worked as a junior artiste on the small screen for local film producer Prabhat Raj for his film Kahani Kismat Ki. Apart from this, the youngster has also produced his own music albums Pyar Hua Ishq Hua and Tohen Hamar Jaan, where his talents were commended by Bollywood stars like Ajay Devgn and Aruna Irani.

Prodded for details about meeting Devgn, Mahto said that it had taken him almost a year to get the actor’s number.

“Contacting Devgn was not easy for me. I met the writer of Phool aur Kante Iqbal Durani, who later introduced me to Devgn,” Mahto fondly recollected.

Patel, who also holds a diploma in dance from a local institute and has worked at a local bookstall for a living, attributes his perseverance to his stint with the NCC training under Wing Commander R.Y. Pingle while he was in school.

The teen added that he did not want to be a star but work as a team player for the success of his films.