Anchoring not stepping stone to movies: Manish Paul

After being a successful anchor on the small screen, Manish Paul moves to the big screen with "Mickey Virus", but insists that he never used the small screen medium to get into movies.

The 31-year-old has anchored shows like "Dance India Dance Li'l Masters", "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Singing Superstar" and "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 5".

"I was a Radio Jockey also. People thought that I am doing it because I have no work. But whatever work came my way, I never thought of it as small or big and just did it," Manish told IANS

He recently won an award for best anchor at Indian Telly Awards while competing with the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan.

"Rather than thinking that I will do only big banners or host big shows, I wanted people to believe in my ability and think that yes, this guy can do it. I never took anchoring as a stepping stone to the silver screen," he added.

Manish has also been roped in for the sequel of 2010 movie "Tere Bin Laden".

Asked what is more important to him between acting and anchoring, he says: "I always believed that I am an entertainer and I love to entertain people whether its through anchoring or acting. When I came to Mumbai, like any other actor, it was my dream to be on the silver screen, but I was never desperate that I want to do films at any cost."

Though he has movie projects in hand now, Manish hasn't quit anchoring - he will soon start shooting for the sixth season of "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa" as a host.

His success mantra is "believe in yourself to achieve success".