Siddharth Malhotra has no time to keep track of what projects his peers are bagging as he is busy befriending them. He spoke to Eram Agha about finding his space in the industry
Actor Siddharth Malhotra belongs to the new breed of cool, calm and collected actors, who have time to bond off screen and catch up with friends. Work and film offers shouldn’t be a spoiler or dampener in forging new ties, in fact, it should be bringing actors together. In current times contemporaries can be friends in the world of entertainment industry, “Of course, all of us are fond of each other, we are all younger guys much cooler and less aggressive about films and roles, Arjun Kapoor and I share a great bond,” he said attributing this trait to the changed times. “We don’t work in the old frame, times have changed where numbers of films have increased. It is not like only 10 films have been slotted to release in a year and the fight of bagging them is big. Today many films are being made and every one has roles to play,” he said and added, “This batch of actors is not fighting for the same roles but just fighting for space. That doesn’t mean we are not competitive. There is competition and that is why everyone is on their toes, constantly upgrading themselves to deliver quality.”
The actor, who finds Ranbir Kapoor as his competitor, will be seen in Vinil Mathews Hasee Toh Phasee (HTP). He was earlier not convinced to take up this film — ladka-ladki swinging on a love seat didn’t paint a promising picture on his mind when he read these lines in the script but things changed after he met the director. “When I read the script I wasn’t really sure but when I met Mathews the whole script started to make sense to me. I had expressions to put to the lines and acts written in it. He gave me confidence and then I realised where this humour is coming from,” he said.
Post a big break through Karan Johar’s production it is natural to think that life is a beach for him, he begged to differ and said, “People get over debut performances pretty soon. We are as good as our last performance. I am more focussed on giving something new to my fans and the audience, which calls for a lot of hard work and re-invention.”
His acts are in place to conjure a magic on-screen with each film. He wants to stay away from being stereotyped but in real life people’s views about him don’t change. He is believed to be a quiet young man! “I am not as reserved as people imagine me to be, and I can’t be as chirpy as people expect me to be. It is alright if there is this view of me — reserved and quiet — I am more concerned about not letting my fans tag me to one kind of role on screen. I want to do different things,” he said.
His stay in Mumbai has brought him closer to reality and taught him some valuable lessons that he would always keep close to his heart. “Here I learnt to be independent, understood the value of being good and learnt to handle people and finances,” he said.
The actor aspires to work with Imtiaz Ali, Zoya Akhtar, Ayan Mukherji and Raju Hirani and act with Deepika Padukone. He grew up on films his mom chose to play on the VCR. “Mom brought cassettes of Yash Chopra films, American sitcoms and Pakistani plays with Omar Sharif at his nutty best. I was glued to them and formed my very first impressions of films and acting. VCRs were popular for TV was not inundated with channels then,” he said.
He is all praises for his HTP co-star Parineeti Chopra. “We are both North Indians and Punjabis, we bonded well on sets, she speaks amazing Punjabi and calls me a “fake Malhotra” because of my inability to speak in that tongue. She is travelling and once Parineeti is back I will take lessons of Punjabi from her,” he smiled. That’s the real actor who learns off and on screen!