Sidharth Malhotra: Now people are interested in me

Excerpts from the conversation that followed:

Ek Villain is a radical departure for you after Student Of The Year and Hasee Toh Phasee. How did you prepare for the role?
Milap Zaveri gave me the narration and the role was initially very loud with bhaigiri lingo. This was toned down. My character in the film doesn't speak too much. A lot is conveyed through expressions. We had a workshop with Mukesh Chabbra. I worked on my look. Besides stubble, I opted for tattoos. I have short hair in one look, a patch in the other. It wasn't easy to alternate between the two looks. I was very excited that Mohit is directing the film. My character in the film has many shades of Emraan Hashmi's character from his film Awarapan.

Did you face Mohit's temper on the sets?
Mohit does have a temper. In fact, Shraddha (Kapoor, his co star in Ek Villain) told me that he was a lot more on the edge when making Aashiqui 2. But yeah, the crew had to bear the brunt sometimes. But he and I never had a fight. On the con trary, we bonded rather well. We both are dog lovers and have similar taste in movies.

You are doing another Dharma film, the remake of Priceless...
Tarun Mansukhani is still writing it.

Why does he take such a long time to write? A case in point is Dostana 2.

That is for Karan and Tarun to decide. Tarun wants to make sure that the script is flawless before he takes it to the floors. He has this process of showing it to friends and taking their feedback. And then he starts working on it again. If Priceless happens, it will be only happen next year. This year, I am busy with Vikramaditya Motwane's Bhavesh Joshi and Punit Malhotra's Warriors.

You replaced Imran Khan in Bhavesh Joshi. Did you speak to him before signing it?
No.

Aren't you doing Shakun Batra's next--another film where Imran was the first choice?
I am not doing that film.

Are you both good with each other?

A few days ago, we met in a gym. There is no ego thing between Imran and I.

Looking forward to work with Akshay Kumar in Dharma's Warriors?
Definitely. Unlike us, there is a sense of calmness in senior actors. Ditto for Riteish Deshmukh (his co-star in Ek Villain).

Recently, you had three back-to-back linkups...
I knew this was coming (pauses). I think, now, people are interested in me.

More recently, Aditi Rao Hydari and you bonded at an award function in Tampa and were spotted at various hangouts in NY...
Aditi and I did hang out together, but not alone. There were friends accompanying us.

What about rumours of Shraddha and you being attracted to each other?
Shraddha is a very attractive girl. We had a great time working together in Ek Villain. That's about it.

Did you have to explain the equation to her boyfriend Aditya Roy Kapoor?
I met Aditya in Tampa. There is no bad blood between us.

And what about your recent date with Brazilian model, Izabelle Leite at a Bandra nightspot?

(Fidgets) She and I share a healthy friendship that is essential to my sanity.