Turning the Tide

Sidharth Malhotra

Sidharth Malhotra the third, most subdued of the famous Student of the Year trio (Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan being the other two), the proverbial outsider with no family in the film industry is now coming into his own. The boy from Delhi, despite the fact that he elicited tremendous interest from women in the audience, was the only one that trade pundits were sceptical of.
After all, this was no industry kid and even though Karan Johar, the best director and creative producer in showbiz was mentoring all the three newcomers, it was no guarantee that he would last beyond the throes of his successful debut. It didn’t help that the youngster chose to keep things quiet and maintain a low profile right till the release of his second film. As things turned out, Malhotra’s successful outing in a romcom with a difference—Hasee Toh Phasee, that saw him pitted against the most formidable young acting talent on the block, Parineeti Chopra—turned public opinion in his favour. It proved that (a) he could hold his own in a film and (b) the audience was keen to watch him on screen.
That’s always a good sign, though it’s a little premature yet to conclude that he’s firmly established in the top echelons—after all, the young talent club is the most competitive, what with well established stars like Ranbir Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor, Imran Khan and Ranveer Singh, and the very competent emerging talent with names like Aditya Roy Kapur, Arjun Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Sushant Singh Rajput and of course, Sidharth Malhotra, competing for the blue chip projects.
And now Ek Villain, a thriller that has got everyone curious, is likely to catapult him into a comfortable space as a newbie with the potential to carry a film on his shoulders.But celebrations are on hold for the moment. Relief, at signing up for an age appropriate project, a thriller that allows him the latitude to play a character with an emotional graph very different from his earlier sugar-n-spice, and all- that’s- nice romcoms, is all that he is allowing himself.
But there’s more coming up—Karan Malhotra’s adaptation of the 2011 Hollywood film, Warrior, a sports drama that teams him up with superstar Akshay Kumar, an adaptation of the French film Priceless a project that is yet to be formally announced, (yet to be formally announced), that director Tarun Mansukahani is writing. Then there is Vikramaditya Motwane’s film Bhavesh Joshi in which he plays a superhero of sorts, “although he’s more in the Batman space and is not blessed with superpowers.” The young actor is excited about covering a gamut of different characters in a short span.
When asked about the prospect of his upcoming film, he treads with caution insisting that the early response has been rather heartening. The best part of Ek Villain, a departure from the candyfloss world of his earlier films is that, it allowed him anger with some shouting and screaming thrown in. After all, a Mohit Suri film, he says, can never be about happy, light-hearted characters and that in itself has been a major step forward from the starting point. He looked convincing enough for even his parents to be taken by surprise at his brooding intensity and anger (on-screen) evident in Ek Villian. “ I keep telling them that it’s all the trauma of my childhood that is finding an outlet,” he says with a laugh.
And while on the subject of shifts, one can’t help but bring up his quick foray into non-Dharma projects. Malhotra is probably being asked that a lot as he is measured and cautious in his answer, admitting that after Hasee Toh Phasee which was a Dharma co-production, he has collaborated on films outside of the banner, but the slate of upcoming films will see him back in familiar territory.
“The culture at Dharma is something else all together. You are so well looked after—something that comes from Karan Johar and his father Yash Johar—that you feel really special. For instance, if you just happen to mention that you like dark chocolate, you are likely to find it in your hotel room.”
To cite an example, he says that when he had to keep away from his Mumbai home for a long outdoor stint and did not have domestic help at hand, his dog, was well looked after and thoughtfully dispatched to Delhi to his parents so that the actor was not hassled and worried about him.
Of course, the world beyond Dharma, as he has discovered is not quite as warm and the actor says that his brief stint in showbiz, has taught him to be both diplomatic as well as more communicative and social. Given that almost two years since his debut in Student of The Year, he is being seen a lot more at social dos, mingling with new friends—the realisation is on display. Why, just recently he was spotted at friend Sonakshi Sinha’s birthday bash.
On the acting front, he has worked on his technique, learnt to channel his emotions better and worked on his close-up shots that require a greater intensity. And yes, he hopes to improve with every film. Given his earlier outing, this year in which critics approved of his performance, Malhotra is making good progress. He is excited about working with a medley of bright young directors like Karan Malhotra, Tarun Mansukhani and Vikramaditya Motwane, although given the ‘remain tight-lipped-about-future-projects’ lesson learnt, he opts for a studied nonchalance. The only part he admits to is that the character in Bhavesh Joshi has been modified slightly from the original, Gujarati superhero- of-sorts.
But the biggest desire on his wishlist as of now is to share screen space with Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan whom he idolises. “We have grown up watching their films and idolising them so what would be bigger than that?” he sallies, counting Hum starring Big B and Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai among his favourite films.
Among his prized memories is a recollection of a childhood incident when he and his family had a chance to meet Amitabh Bachchan. “I was really young at that time and the sight of this tall man, with his majestic height and baritone rendered me completely speechless. I remember he even told me that my shoelace was untied, but I was so awestruck that I just could not figure out what he was saying till my brother told me!”
The good-looking young actor is certainly someone that several actresses are hoping to work with, but on his part, only two make it to his list. Deepika Padukone is an actress that he would like to work with, besides Anushka Sharma, an actress who he says would match him in height —and she is likely to be paired with in the Priceless remake.
Presently, he is thrilled about getting a foot in the door to Bollywood and becoming a part of the industry. Mumbai, he admits has given him a lot and though he hasn’t yet technically put down roots—he still lives in a rented flat in Bandra— buying himself an apartment in the city, presumably from the earnings of his forthcoming ‘blockbusters’, is the next step on his bucket list.
Malhotra is sure turning out to be the quintessential bright student, we’d say.

priyanka.sinha@expressindia.com