Sidharth Malhotra, 28, was this chubby Punjabi boy, who had never thought that he would become a star and have such a wide range of female following, from young girls to older women to firangis. His only connection to films was sitting and watching Yash Chopra films with his mother, till he assisted his mentor Karan Johar and finally got launched as one of his students. He loves his dog the most and has still not come to terms with being recognised as a star, something that he feels will happen with his next release Hasee Toh Phasee. In a conversation with TOI, he talks about his kind mentor Karan Johar, his ex-South African girlfriend and why he is impatient with his mother. Excerpts:
How did you come into films?
I was born and brought up in Delhi and studied in an all boys school (Don Bosco) till Class XI, when I was lucky to have moved to a co-ed (Naval Public) that was a big thing with girls as your classmates. My dad was in the merchant navy for most of his life and retired 15 years ago, as my mum was missing him. He is now a consultant, but leads a retired life. I have an older brother, who is a banker. We would be among the few kids with all those imported cans and would travel to different countries every summer vacation. While pursuing my graduation from Bhagat Singh College in Delhi University, I started modelling. That's when I auditioned for Anubhav Sinha's film and got selected as one of the three leads. Adlabs gave us a cool contract where they gave us a place to stay in Mumbai and a small salary. This lasted for six months till Anubhav Sinha decided to make Ra.One when our film got shelved. I was 22 then. My parents and I knew Manish Malhotra through fashion in Delhi, though people thought I was related to him and through him, I got into Dharma and got to assist Karan Johar in My Name is Khan. That was the best film school I could have gone to. Karan knew that Varun and I wanted to become actors. We auditioned and were selected for Student Of The Year.
How different are Varun and you?
He is two years younger than me and we shared the same apartment in LA during our first schedule and he used to be the last to get up. We would work out and hang out together. He is very well-prepared for the industry. He has been an enthusiastic and over-energetic guy from the beginning. He is obsessed with chicken and I have never seen someone eat so much chicken. I don't know how he survives without any carbs or fibre. He is far more comfortable and confident of himself. He is more aware of the film world by virtue of being from a film family and having been exposed to actors and being on set from his childhood. He is very close to most of the actors. I am the more emotional, quiet, introvert kind. Varun is more in his own world, like he won't get affected if he is sure about something and will not care what you tell him, good or bad. He will do that thing the way he wants to, which is great. I think I am a little more lost as I come from a different background and the whole film world is new to me. It takes me that extra number of times to meet somebody to feel comfortable. He wanted to be a hero from the age of six. I had lived it for only five years, hence his awareness and comfort was more. During promotions, I was always lost. Every second person was Varun's friend or his father's friend or his brother's friend. Even now when we go to filmi parties, they have so much to talk to Varun and Alia, but when they come to me, they become blank and therefore I am most awkward and it takes me a little time. In my head it's just some stupid things. Though I am an actor, I am still a bit of a fan in my head when I meet a star and I have still not come to terms with the fact that I am in Bollywood. When somebody asks me for a picture, I still get surprised that they are recognising me. I think Hasee Toh Phasee will help me become an actor in my head.
Did you feel competitive towards Varun?
We were aware of it. On the first day of shoot, while shooting the Radha song, I went upto him and told him, 'Varun, see we are both getting launched and people will pitch us against each other. I just want to say that none of us have to lose on this film and let us work as a team. We should tell each other to our face whatever we feel and we rather help each other than compete.' I remember him smiling that time and feeling that the load was off his chest too.
Source : Times of India
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