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Sidharth Malhotra, who debuted with 'Student of the Year', may not have as many releases as his contemporaries, but that surely doesn't make him insecure. He rather believes in taking it slow and choosing the right film. He believes in quality than quantity. And rightly so, the patience of giving in four months to prepare for a film like 'Brothers' has paid off well. The buzz around the movie is phenomenal and the trailer has been received well. Ahead of the film's release this week, Sidharth talks to us exclusively on 'Brothers', working with Akshay Kumar, his fan boy moment with Kareena Kapoor Khan, his equation with Alia Bhatt and more.
How did you prepare for your role in 'Brothers
Preparing for the role was painful and gruesome. In this very room Karan Malhotra told me about the film and that Akshay Kumar plays the other brother. I thought of the climax and was nervous because Akshay is known for these kind of films. To match up to his stature, technique and persona, I decided to take 4 months off and just train, eat and sleep. Karan Malhotra was very intelligent to decide that I should gain 10 kilos and Akshay should lose 10 kilos only then we would look at par. The endeavour was to make me look heavier. We had international trainers who were very equipped to train us. It was painful as we trained for 5-6 hours a day.
How did you recover from the physical pain that you encountered while training for the film?
That is when I discovered the technique of Ice Cold bath. To relax the muscles you sit in ice cold water for 15 minutes and when you are out you feel very relaxed and rejuvenated. The muscle soarness goes down. I have gained the muscles in natural way and not through chemical treatment. I gained weight in 120 days and then I also in the same manner lost weight for 'Kapoor and Sons'.
You played an angry young man in 'Ek Villain' too where you had action sequences. So can we say with 'Brothers' you have pushed the envelope further?
Of course, and here I am not fighting for love. I am fighting for my personal space with my father and brother. I am the youngest and they don't take me seriously. This also has mixed martial arts angle and I am more physically active in this one than I was in 'Ek Villain'. Also, I was very conscious of not repeating myself. It is not anything similar to 'Ek Villain'. Because I was junior and Akshay sir got Jacqueline and I got Jackie sir.. hence I was angry! (laughs).
Akshay Kumar is known for doing such action roles. What tips did he give you while shooting? And were you a victim of his pranks?
He was very helpful in giving tips for action scenes. As far as prankster is concerned, we were wearing shorts in the MMA ring. So he asked me to wear a guard since he was kicking me. I had worn protective gears and when the shot was over, we were on the floor grappling, mingling and standing, he had put in his hand in and taken the guard out. I was wondering when did he put his hand inside and take the guard out. Later on we realized that Akshay sir had two guards. But for those 2 seconds I actually thought that his hand went inside and took my guard off. But hatts off to Akshay sir.. because of him the whole environment was fun and stress free and helped this intense film go smooth.
You also got to share screen space with Kareena Kapoor. What was the experience like?
I'm her big fan. I would love to work with her. I wish there was more to do. In 'Brothers', my character is such that I'm only looking left & right when she's in front of me. I told Karan what is this and what kind of a script is this that I can't see her also? I was very sad that I had to be in full character and the angry young man Karan Malhotra wanted me to be. But sometimes it was tough to take your eyes off her. When there is such a beautiful & amazing performer dancing and coming close to you, you tend to look but I wasn't allowed to do that. So I had to go against my natural grin and ignore & concentrate. That was very difficult to be intrigued and not to give in. I had feelings to dance with her also but I couldn't. I wanted to break in but couldn't, but I think it's correct when you see the film in a flow. My character couldn't do that.
How is 'Kapoor And Sons' shaping up?
'Kapoor and Sons' is almost done. Last two days of shoot is left. It is the quickest film I have shot for. It was a great outdoor shoot working with Fawad who has got a huge female fan following and we shot with Rishi Kapoor and that was great. I got to work with Alia after SOTY and that was fun, though Coonoor is not a place where you can do much. Just 2-3 restaurants and nothing much to do and so 45 days becomes slightly boring. But I wanted to learn horse riding which I did there. We played cricket with crew. And you will see me in a different avatar which is light and comedy.
There have been reports that you are dating Alia Bhatt. Any truth to it?
Rumours that we were seeing each other? Ya, I was just seeing her in and out and 45 days I've only seen her all throughout 'Kapoor and Sons'. And these rumours don't affect my relation with her. I think we are in a profession that we've to make belief and convince people. Whatever we say can't really get misconstrued at times because we're professional liars so we convince people any which way. So, I had a great film working relationship with Alia in 'Kapoor and Sons'.
So are you single?
Yes, I'm single!
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