His recent release, Bhuj: The Pride Of India, fetched him good reviews, and Sharad Kelkar couldn’t be happier. What he counts as the best compliment is people telling him they could only see the character and not him.

“For any actor, the best thing is when people see the character and not actor in the film. If you look the part, that is a compliment. People never saw me in the film, and that is the victory of an actor,” says the 45-year-old, who essayed the role of Indian Army officer R K Nair.

While his TV and film outings gave him enough opportunities to prove himself, there were also a few compromises on the way. “I am a common man and I have a house to run. If I was single and didn’t have that responsibility, then yes, I would have taken a chance by only doing stuff that I like. But I’m a family man, I have responsibilities. So, sometimes, I don’t think about it (whether he really likes a project or not),” Kelkar admits.

And, he finds nothing wrong about doing such projects, too. “Somebody makes a project with passion, respects me and gives me a role, and pays me, too. I don’t think there is anything wrong [with that]. Work is work. I give my 100%, whether it’s a small or big film, web show, TV, or anchoring an event,” he explains.

Kelkar says that it’s a “miracle” that some of the projects that he expected the least from, did well. “You never know what will turn into gold. The only policy I follow is to keep working and giving my best. You must have heard from a lot of actors, and a prominent one is Akshay Kumar, that 70% is luck and 30% is hard work. We have to leave something to luck also. You can’t be perfect every time; you might go right or wrong,” he says.