Upen Patel's sudden movie star status with his role as a suave playboy in the recent hit "36 China Town" has not gone to his head, unlike the over-confident character he played in the film.

"I'm not someone who is a born actor. I think I just got very lucky with a great launch and fabulous directors in Abbas Mastan in '36 China Town'," Upen told.

"I also got a fantastic song by Himesh Reshammiya. So I think the whole combination really helped me and I really think I owe them everything. There's still so much to learn," Upen said in a strong British accent, having grown up and studied mainly in Britain, although he was born in India.

Conceding that this (his accent) was one of the factors that was against him in entering the Hindi film industry, the former model said: "I'm a not a star son and coming from London, not having a strong hold on the (Hindi) language also counted against me.

But I think I was very successful as a model for four years which gave me a stepping stone into Bollywood, with Subash Ghai recognising me and giving me a chance."

Somewhat ironically, Upen has not yet seen "36 China Town" as a finished product, having heard about the way his role had turned out only from people who had seen it.

"I am my biggest critic and I would probably be saying: 'Why didn't I do that?' or 'Why didn't I wear that?"

After spending a month in South Africa shooting for "Shakalaka Boom Boom", Upen will head for familiar turf in Britain to star in "Namaste London" with Akshay Kumar. After that there are at least half a dozen other films with top producers in the kitty.