Posted:
Nobody expected me to survive'
Says Sidharth Malhotra, the 'outsider' who with his latest hit, has finally found acceptance in the industry.
There's a spring in his step as he walks in. His latest film, Ek Villain, is racing towards the Rs 100 crore club. And Sidharth Malhotra is playing with numbers for the first time.
It's not been easy for an 'outsider' to inch his way into Bollywood's 'inside circle'. But when Salman Khan turned up at his doorstep to toast the film's success and gift him his watch, it proved that Sidharth had managed that feat. Of course, not everyone is as large-hearted as bhai, but the Delhi boy admits that he can now go to bed without worrying that this alien world he entered four years ago as an assistant director to Tarun Mansukhani on Dostana, will never be his. That was the first time he'd been on a film set. And it wasn't the last. But even when he bagged the lead in Karan Johar's Student Of The Year, people continued to question his luck.
"I was made to understand that I didn't deserve it and the fairytale wouldn't last. Nobody expected me to survive. That was the last thing I needed to hear since I was living alone, away from my family and home. Every night I'd be plagued by doubts as I reflected on the day's work and wished I'd rehearsed the dance steps more," he reminisces.
During those dark days, Sidharth's support group were the ADs on the film and mentor-director Karan Johar who pushed all three proteges - Varun Dhawean, Alia Bhatt and Sidharth equally. SOTY was a hit but no one expected Sidharth to stay. While the other 'students' were fending off rumours about a brewing romance with each other and others, there were speculations about Sidharth's sexuality.
He laughs off the "casting couch" accusations saying that such loose talk is inevitable. "Alia and Varun have done three films with Karan's banner as compared to my two, of which Hasee Toh Phasee was a co-production. But I can understand the scepticism. I was a new boy from nowhere who had Karan's support," he shrugs.
Today, there's been a turnaround and his sightings with Izabelle Liete, Aditi Rao Hydari, Shraddha Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha has become fodder for the media. "Sonakshi too?" he asks. Yes, she's supposed to be his best friend. That draws a laugh, "I just have to attend someone's birthday party or go out for dinner with someone else, for us to be in a relationship. That's not going to stop me from socialising but tell me, which girl would want to be with a guy who goes to bed early and gives more importance to the gym? I don't even have a female lead in my next film."
The film is a desi adaptation of the 2011 sports drama Warrior. And Sidharth's priority is to turn big and beefy like Tom Hardy over the next six-seven weeks.
This means munching on carbs and proteins every 30 minutes, so he can put on eight-10 kilos and add on the inches to play a fighter who takes on his estranged brother in the ring.
Once he's built up a warrior's physique, for which he's undergoing specialised training in the gym, Sidharth will train in mixed martial arts so he can prove a worthy opponent to martial arts expert, Akshay Kumar, who plays his older brother in the film.
Isn't he worried about getting over-shadowed by the Khiladi? "I'm not going to worry about how many scenes and dialogue my costar has. I'd rather keep my faith in the content and work towards conveying my feelings through silences since I don't have too many lines," he smiles. "Even Hasee Toh Phasee was more Parineeti's (Chopra) film. Her character had the quirks, yet I was noticed."
But the film couldn't create the kind of box-office magic that was expected of it, perhaps because the idea of a guy leaving one sister for another didn't go down well with our conservative audience? "That was the idea behind so many blockbusters, including Sooraj Barjatya's films. What was harder to digest was Parineeti's character taking antidepressant pills and having kleptomaniac tendencies. I think people were expecting a happy, colourful romantic film but it was a darker drama targetting the metros. It made money and I took myself up one notch as an actor.
The idea is to be different with every film and I'm glad my mother and my brother who were sitting besides me during the screening of Ek Villain forget it was me on screen after the first 15 minutes," he exults. However, Sidharth admits that it wasn't easy to play Guru, who can throw a man into a fire and works as a hitman. "I used to work out scenarios in my head to explain his actions and do push-ups between shots so my face could glow with sweat and anguish," he reveals, pointing out that the unconventional climax when he reaches out to the child of the man who murdered his love, could have worked against the film had he killed Riteish's (Deshmukh) character.
After the Warrior, Sidharth will move on to Bhavesh Joshi, a vigilante who sets out to clean up the city of Mumbai. He's a superhero without superpowers but with a mask and may be a cape too. "We're working on the look. It has to look good and convincing, create an identity and take the franchise forward," says Sidharth, who has grown up on Superman, can't wait to become Bhavesh.
The 29-year-old who came to Mumbai seven years ago, with stars in his eyes and doubts on his mind, is looking to buy his own home in the city today. "It'll make me older, more responsible," he quips.
Says Sidharth Malhotra, the 'outsider' who with his latest hit, has finally found acceptance in the industry.
There's a spring in his step as he walks in. His latest film, Ek Villain, is racing towards the Rs 100 crore club. And Sidharth Malhotra is playing with numbers for the first time.
It's not been easy for an 'outsider' to inch his way into Bollywood's 'inside circle'. But when Salman Khan turned up at his doorstep to toast the film's success and gift him his watch, it proved that Sidharth had managed that feat. Of course, not everyone is as large-hearted as bhai, but the Delhi boy admits that he can now go to bed without worrying that this alien world he entered four years ago as an assistant director to Tarun Mansukhani on Dostana, will never be his.
There's a spring in his step as he walks in. His latest film, Ek Villain, is racing towards the Rs 100 crore club. And Sidharth Malhotra is playing with numbers for the first time.
It's not been easy for an 'outsider' to inch his way into Bollywood's 'inside circle'. But when Salman Khan turned up at his doorstep to toast the film's success and gift him his watch, it proved that Sidharth had managed that feat. Of course, not everyone is as large-hearted as bhai, but the Delhi boy admits that he can now go to bed without worrying that this alien world he entered four years ago as an assistant director to Tarun Mansukhani on Dostana, will never be his.
That was the first time he'd been on a film set. And it wasn't the last. But even when he bagged the lead in Karan Johar's Student Of The Year, people continued to question his luck.
"I was made to understand that I didn't deserve it and the fairytale wouldn't last. Nobody expected me to survive. That was the last thing I needed to hear since I was living alone, away from my family and home. Every night I'd be plagued by doubts as I reflected on the day's work and wished I'd rehearsed the dance steps more," he reminisces.
During those dark days, Sidharth's support group were the ADs on the film and mentor-director Karan Johar who pushed all three proteges - Varun Dhawean, Alia Bhatt and Sidharth equally. SOTY was a hit but no one expected Sidharth to stay. While the other 'students' were fending off rumours about a brewing romance with each other and others, there were speculations about Sidharth's sexuality.
He laughs off the "casting couch" accusations saying that such loose talk is inevitable. "Alia and Varun have done three films with Karan's banner as compared to my two, of which Hasee Toh Phasee was a co-production. But I can understand the scepticism. I was a new boy from nowhere who had Karan's support," he shrugs.
Today, there's been a turnaround and his sightings with Izabelle Liete, Aditi Rao Hydari, Shraddha Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha has become fodder for the media. "Sonakshi too?" he asks. Yes, she's supposed to be his best friend. That draws a laugh, "I just have to attend someone's birthday party or go out for dinner with someone else, for us to be in a relationship. That's not going to stop me from socialising but tell me, which girl would want to be with a guy who goes to bed early and gives more importance to the gym? I don't even have a female lead in my next film."
The film is a desi adaptation of the 2011 sports drama Warrior. And Sidharth's priority is to turn big and beefy like Tom Hardy over the next six-seven weeks.
This means munching on carbs and proteins every 30 minutes, so he can put on eight-10 kilos and add on the inches to play a fighter who takes on his estranged brother in the ring.
Once he's built up a warrior's physique, for which he's undergoing specialised training in the gym, Sidharth will train in mixed martial arts so he can prove a worthy opponent to martial arts expert, Akshay Kumar, who plays his older brother in the film.
Isn't he worried about getting over-shadowed by the Khiladi? "I'm not going to worry about how many scenes and dialogue my costar has. I'd rather keep my faith in the content and work towards conveying my feelings through silences since I don't have too many lines," he smiles. "Even Hasee Toh Phasee was more Parineeti's (Chopra) film. Her character had the quirks, yet I was noticed."
But the film couldn't create the kind of box-office magic that was expected of it, perhaps because the idea of a guy leaving one sister for another didn't go down well with our conservative audience? "That was the idea behind so many blockbusters, including Sooraj Barjatya's films. What was harder to digest was Parineeti's character taking antidepressant pills and having kleptomaniac tendencies. I think people were expecting a happy, colourful romantic film but it was a darker drama targetting the metros. It made money and I took myself up one notch as an actor.
The idea is to be different with every film and I'm glad my mother and my brother who were sitting besides me during the screening of Ek Villain forget it was me on screen after the first 15 minutes," he exults. However, Sidharth admits that it wasn't easy to play Guru, who can throw a man into a fire and works as a hitman. "I used to work out scenarios in my head to explain his actions and do push-ups between shots so my face could glow with sweat and anguish," he reveals, pointing out that the unconventional climax when he reaches out to the child of the man who murdered his love, could have worked against the film had he killed Riteish's (Deshmukh) character.
After the Warrior, Sidharth will move on to Bhavesh Joshi, a vigilante who sets out to clean up the city of Mumbai. He's a superhero without superpowers but with a mask and may be a cape too. "We're working on the look. It has to look good and convincing, create an identity and take the franchise forward," says Sidharth, who has grown up on Superman, can't wait to become Bhavesh.
The 29-year-old who came to Mumbai seven years ago, with stars in his eyes and doubts on his mind, is looking to buy his own home in the city today. "It'll make me older, more responsible," he quips.
"I was made to understand that I didn't deserve it and the fairytale wouldn't last. Nobody expected me to survive. That was the last thing I needed to hear since I was living alone, away from my family and home. Every night I'd be plagued by doubts as I reflected on the day's work and wished I'd rehearsed the dance steps more," he reminisces.
During those dark days, Sidharth's support group were the ADs on the film and mentor-director Karan Johar who pushed all three proteges - Varun Dhawean, Alia Bhatt and Sidharth equally. SOTY was a hit but no one expected Sidharth to stay. While the other 'students' were fending off rumours about a brewing romance with each other and others, there were speculations about Sidharth's sexuality.
He laughs off the "casting couch" accusations saying that such loose talk is inevitable. "Alia and Varun have done three films with Karan's banner as compared to my two, of which Hasee Toh Phasee was a co-production. But I can understand the scepticism. I was a new boy from nowhere who had Karan's support," he shrugs.
Today, there's been a turnaround and his sightings with Izabelle Liete, Aditi Rao Hydari, Shraddha Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha has become fodder for the media. "Sonakshi too?" he asks. Yes, she's supposed to be his best friend. That draws a laugh, "I just have to attend someone's birthday party or go out for dinner with someone else, for us to be in a relationship. That's not going to stop me from socialising but tell me, which girl would want to be with a guy who goes to bed early and gives more importance to the gym? I don't even have a female lead in my next film."
The film is a desi adaptation of the 2011 sports drama Warrior. And Sidharth's priority is to turn big and beefy like Tom Hardy over the next six-seven weeks.
This means munching on carbs and proteins every 30 minutes, so he can put on eight-10 kilos and add on the inches to play a fighter who takes on his estranged brother in the ring.
Once he's built up a warrior's physique, for which he's undergoing specialised training in the gym, Sidharth will train in mixed martial arts so he can prove a worthy opponent to martial arts expert, Akshay Kumar, who plays his older brother in the film.
Isn't he worried about getting over-shadowed by the Khiladi? "I'm not going to worry about how many scenes and dialogue my costar has. I'd rather keep my faith in the content and work towards conveying my feelings through silences since I don't have too many lines," he smiles. "Even Hasee Toh Phasee was more Parineeti's (Chopra) film. Her character had the quirks, yet I was noticed."
But the film couldn't create the kind of box-office magic that was expected of it, perhaps because the idea of a guy leaving one sister for another didn't go down well with our conservative audience? "That was the idea behind so many blockbusters, including Sooraj Barjatya's films. What was harder to digest was Parineeti's character taking antidepressant pills and having kleptomaniac tendencies. I think people were expecting a happy, colourful romantic film but it was a darker drama targetting the metros. It made money and I took myself up one notch as an actor.
The idea is to be different with every film and I'm glad my mother and my brother who were sitting besides me during the screening of Ek Villain forget it was me on screen after the first 15 minutes," he exults. However, Sidharth admits that it wasn't easy to play Guru, who can throw a man into a fire and works as a hitman. "I used to work out scenarios in my head to explain his actions and do push-ups between shots so my face could glow with sweat and anguish," he reveals, pointing out that the unconventional climax when he reaches out to the child of the man who murdered his love, could have worked against the film had he killed Riteish's (Deshmukh) character.
After the Warrior, Sidharth will move on to Bhavesh Joshi, a vigilante who sets out to clean up the city of Mumbai. He's a superhero without superpowers but with a mask and may be a cape too. "We're working on the look. It has to look good and convincing, create an identity and take the franchise forward," says Sidharth, who has grown up on Superman, can't wait to become Bhavesh.
The 29-year-old who came to Mumbai seven years ago, with stars in his eyes and doubts on his mind, is looking to buy his own home in the city today. "It'll make me older, more responsible," he quips.
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