Sidharth Malhotra on his upcoming films and the way ahead
Sarita A Tanwar (DNA; September 10, 2015)
Sidharth Malhotra is back on the sets. The actor, whose last film released a month ago, has began shooting for Baar Baar Dekho with Katrina Kaif in London. He bulked up for Brothers, but has now shed the extra kilos to fit into his role in Nitya Mehra’s next. Here he talks about his chameleon act, about being ambitious and the way ahead. Read on..
How ambitious are you on a scale of one to 10?
Thirteen! I don’t come across as ambitious as people confuse ambition as the norm. I feel that there isn’t one way to reach that level. There are so many different ways. I am very ambitious. About me, my career, my family, my lifestyle, settling in…
Do you plan ahead?
I won’t say I have a plan...because that’s limited to what comes your way. My plan is to adapt to different genres and not be stuck or true to one.
I think you’ve already managed to do that.
That’s my attempt. I have done two back-to-back intense films like Ek Villain and Brothers. Now I want to do softer bits. I am doing two softer films like Kapoor And Sons and Baar Baar Dekho. So, to be approached for both genres (and both successful); hopefully, I think that is a way of getting in or having a longer successful career. So yes, I keep those things in mind. I would be lying if I say that I am not ambitious.
How are you going about fulfilling your ambitions?
I have a checklist now. I have become more aware. I want to work with actors and directors who will push me. Like I have learnt so much from Karan Malhotra. It’s amazing how a director can transform an actor. Karan gets full credit for my look in Brothers. To have that conviction that ‘Nahi yaar, we will change your face, we will give you this full beard...’ I have a bucket list of directors I want to work with Imtiaz Ali, Rajkumar Hirani and Zoya Akhtar. I’d love to work with them in the near future.
Are you a director’s actor?
I feel so. You can see that I have changed and transformed for every film. Shakun Batra was giving an interview recently and he brought it up. He said, ‘Sid treats his physicality first and that makes it easy in a frame.’ In Brothers, I look like a fighter and Akshay’s younger brother. For Kapoor and Sons, I can’t look the same. I worked to look like my character. I play the youngest in the family, and there is slight comedy. My first cheat is to change myself physically because if I am thinking about my biceps and my chest in that scene, I’ll never be able to do this kind of role with conviction.