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Though Sidharth Malhotra is only 6 films old he has forged his own place in Bollywood. His latest release Baar Baar Dekho has under performed at the box office. But the actor is in no way discouraged or daunted.
Sidharth Malhotra: You definitely question yourself when so much hard work is not rewarded. I heard a very interesting quote on marketing. ‘Marketing is like God. If you believe in it it works for you. Even if you don’t believe in it, you still hope it works for me’. Nobody knows why so much marketing is done for our movies.
Sidharth: Well, I’m more comfortable now than I was earlier. But I’ve always felt welcomed in this film industry. So when you say ‘I feel like an insider’, I first need to know what an outsider in this industry feels like. I’ve never been surrounded by too many people. So in that sense, I’ve not really sought a wide acceptance. But whomsoever I’ve met and worked with, they’ve been very warm. Otherwise I am consumed by my own self.
Sidharth: Maybe. But I never feel like an outsider with the people I work with. We are all thorough professionals and we are all insiders when working together. But we don’t share that kind of bonding which I keep hearing about from Karan Johar in the earlier days when the whole film industry bonded. Woh culture hi badal gaya.
Sidharth: I never question my choices. I only question certain methods and processes in the movie-making business. I think after failures I’ve come out more experienced and slightly wiser.
Sidharth: For example, one must take advice on how a film is shaping up from those who have more experience. When I heard the script for Baar Baar Dekho it was one of the most exciting ideas I had come across. What a lovely thought! The heart was in the right place.
Sidharth: I’d still do the film. But maybe differently. I still think it has great potential. Now it’s already done. So no point in thinking of what can or cannot be fixed.
Sidharth: Ha, no strategy. I am just doing the films which have a story to tell that I believe in. I grew up watching only the big stories on screen. In our home in Delhi, we were not regular movie-goers. We were in no way connected to the movie industry. Our connection to the industry was the Bollywood blockbusters. I saw my mother watching the film of Mr Yash Chopra and Mr Amitabh Bachchan. And I grew up in the Shah Rukh Khan era.
Sidharth: Yes, now I am part of that dream world. I’ve so much to be grateful and happy about. So even if I feel a film not working for me is a setback, I look back with a sense of wonder. And then I am okay. I grew up in South Delhi, never thought I’d be a part of the film industry.
Sidharth: Initially when I came to Mumbai, I tried my luck as an actor. I met Mr Anubhav Sinha. He was going to make a film in collaboration with Adlabs. But that didn’t work out. Mr Sinha got busy with Ra.One. After that I questioned my decision to be an actor. My parents in Delhi wondered what I was doing with my life. Yahan lakhon log aate hain actor banne ke liye. So I started assisting Karan Johar on My Name Is Khan. Everyone from Abhishek Burman, Puneet Malhotra etc assisting at Dharma wanted to be directors. At that time I never thought Karan would launch me as an actor. Life has a funny way of working out for you.
I still don’t know how to react to that. It’s taken Mr Bachchan years and years to get where he is. Such talk got even more intense when I did Ek Villain. Maybe because I was playing someone older than I am and very troubled by life.
Sidharth: (laughs) I’ve been lucky. I’ve been praised for my work. Yes, for Baar Baar Dekho there were uncharitable remarks. I guess that happens when a film doesn’t work. We as people thrive on negativity. When a new filmmaker like Nitya Mehra (director of Baar Baar Dekho) is discouraged, other new filmmakers become wary of trying something different.
Sidharth:
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