Sidharth Malhotra made Bollywood debut in 2012. Ever since then, I have been looking at his filmography and it manages to surprise me. While most the actors of his time have carved a niche for themselves, Sid is trying to experiment with different genres and hey, it’s not a bad thing at all! The trailer of his next film Marjaavaan hit the internet a while back and it did manage to impress me. When I recently interacted with him, we spoke about everything right from his career to having faith in your dreams. Read on…
Right from Student Of The Year till Marjaavaan, the genre of your films have always been different. Has that been a conscious decision?
I have consciously tried to go into different genres and just tell stories, more than making me the centre of attention. I wanted to be part of different films where I can adapt to them. I thoroughly enjoyed that and that’s a trend that I can bring about or I can break from the past. But I feel the Indian audience likes to see one actor in one particular zone and they love to slot somebody. It is a challenge and a big one and I feel the pressure of playing a certain kind of character at times but let’s see.
But isn’t that great for your fans? They get to see you in different characters…
Yeah, absolutely and I truly believe that. I’m not being arrogant when I say that I think I can easily fit into a very soft love story or a very aggressive harsh intense action films like Marjaavaan or even an Ek Villain. That is the takeaway to try different things and not fear it. But now I’m also very hungry for the choices that I make to get enough response at the box office because it is needed, it is a business after all. I’m looking forward to Marjaavaan to give me that aspect from the box office because it is a film purely made for that audience.
And how does Sidharth react when your films don’t do well?
Well, of course not everyone makes a film thinking that it’s something that the audience will bite into but when it doesn’t go your way, I’ve learnt so many different reasons – you know, like what they said about ‘Thomas Edison figuring out a lightbulb, you know he tried some odd hundred times.’ Whether on shooting, whether it’s the release date, you know it’s been crazy bad luck with changing release dates which is the worst thing you could do for a film. You know, it happened with Aiyaary and Jabariya Jodi and that’s one thing that doesn’t go well with the audience because the audience gets confused and when it happens for the right reasons and planned, it’s great. We’ve shifted dates to plan a correct release but sometimes, you know when it happens last minute as in the case of, Jabariya Jodi or Aiyaary you’re just literally asking for trouble because an audience would not clue into the television and really remember. So, it’s all a learning process and I’ve found so many ways that I need to take care of and eventually when they produce films tomorrow.
I am looking forward to Marjaavaan, what about you?