Before making it big in Bollywood, almost all actors have taken up blink-and-miss or uncredited roles and we have failed to notice them. Only after Pankaj Tripathi graced the screen as Sultan Qureshi from Gangs of Wasseypur, we realised the actor has been there all along, but rarely taken note of.
Same with Nawazuddin Siddiqui, whose notable works made us look back at his few seconds role in Munna Bhai M.B.B.S and Sarfarosh, among others.
Much like these stars, there are quite a few other seasoned actors whose cameos you may have missed. Like these:
1. Amruta Subhash in Firaaq
The actor had been part of numerous Marathi projects before her maiden film in Bollywood, Firaaq. After that, she appeared in some of the Hindi films, but gained distinguishable prominence only through her digital projects.
2. Adarsh Gourav in My Name Is Khan
There is rarely anyone who isn’t aware of Adarsh Gourav after his spectacular performance in The White Tiger. Even though he had already worked on a film like My Name is Khan, the audience first noticed him as Balram in the BAFTA nominated film.
3. Deepak Dobriyal in Maqbool
Way before we saw him as Pappi ji in Tanu Weds Manu, Deepak Dobriyal shared the screen space with Irrfan Khan in Vishal Bhardwaj’s popular crime-drama Maqbool.
4. Gajraj Rao in Bandit Queen and Hazaron Khwahishen Aisi
Gajraj Rao, who has been a part of Bollywood for decades now, rose to fame following the success of Badhaai Ho. However, the actor has made appearance in countless acclaimed projects prior to that.
5. Tahir Raj Bhasin in Kai Po Che!
An actor who has taken the OTT space by storm is Tahir Raj Bhasin. But not many of us would recognise him from his brief cameo in Kai Po Che!
6. Swara Bhasker in Guzaarish
Swara Bhasker appeared in a short but noticeable role in Tanu Weds Manu. But just a year before that, she also starred in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s directorial Guzaarish as a journalist.
7. Amol Parashar in Rocket Singh
Amol Parashar made his Bollywood debut with the Ranbir Kapoor starrer Rocket Singh. However, the actor’s digital project, TVF Tripling, eventually gained him widespread recognition.
8. Vicky Kaushal in Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana
Before Vicky Kaushal bagged the lead role in Masaan, which gained him immense popularity, the actor briefly appeared as young Omi Khurana in Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana.
9. Prabhas in Action Jackson
The popular South-Indian actor Prabhas made a blink-and-miss cameo in one of the dance numbers from Prabhu Deva’s Action Jackson.
10. Ishaan Khatter in Udta Punjab
Besides being an assistant director for Shahid Kapoor starrer Udta Punjab, Ishaan Khatter also jumped in for a cameo in the film.
11. Uday Chopra in Kal Ho Naa Ho
Although this was hard to miss, did you really notice Uday Chopra when he popped in one of the songs from Kal Ho Naa Ho?
12. Kubbra Sait in Ready
An emerging star, Kubbra Sait grabbed our attention when she played Kukoo in Sacred Games. But she also momentarily appeared in the Salman Khan starrer Ready.
If there is any actor you think we missed here, let us know.