The boy next door, Sidharth Malhotra, is on a roll. He’s been well appreciated for his turn as Arjun in Dharma Productions’ latest offering, Kapoor & Sons . Malhotra is relieved, too, with the cheery departure the role offered him, after his previous outings in the dark and brooding Ek Villain and Brothers .
In an interview with The Hindu , Malhotra spoke about how today’s films have to appeal to the modern palette of the audience, whose staple might otherwise be Hollywood and English TV shows. “The endeavour these days I think is to keep the audience’s sensibility in mind, and that is why a film such as Kapoor & Sons has a very modern-day take. Nothing is larger than life, nothing is over dramatic.”
Malhotra believes that “young” films today appeal to the audience because they are being written by young people of the same generation as the viewer. “Most writers are younger than 35 or 40: they know what works for youngsters. They know what people are craving for because they watch international cinema and TV shows. If we don’t change our palette, we might lose out to Hollywood stuff.”
Having debuted in Student Of The Year (SOTY), Malhotra is a strong believer in the ‘small fish in big pond’ theory. “For me, it is not like it has to be a big solo role. I’d rather have a small part in a big film, or good story than do a solo film just for the sake of it. Eventually, when you have a library of quality films, it gives you satisfaction.”
Nobody can do a song like Karan
Malhotra, who started his Bollywood career as an assistant director to Karan Johar on My Name is Khan , says he is a big fan of Johar. “He gets the humour in everything. More than humour, I think it is his great sense of energy. It comes from his fondness for the late Yash Chopra, the kind of grandness, and happy, commercial cinema they used to make, giving a great storyline at times. I think Karan has adapted that. It’s difficult to summarise what works for him. I’m a big fan, and he is one of the best producers and directors we have. He knows the pulse of how to entertain an audience with a great storyline. Nobody can do a song like him or a love story like him. We all love him for making movies like that.”
I come home to my dog
The actor says he identifies well with his role as the younger brother in Kapoor & Sons . “I come from a family of older brother and parents. It is a world I know, have lived in, and relate to. But I’ve been living as a bachelor for eight years in Mumbai now, while my family stays in Delhi. I see less and less of them, with my lifestyle. I miss the support system when you return home. I only have a dog I come back to, not people or chatter in the house. Of course, I have friends, and that pushes me to socialise more. But in my view, family is someone you go to not only when you are sad but even when you are happy. They just add to your day, to your mood. They are somebody you can fall back on.”
Same difference
Sidharth Malhotra and Alia Bhatt may have everyone agog about their relationshop status, but as co-stars they are back together with their chemistry in Kapoor & Sons , after their debut performances in SOTY.
This is also the film where Rishi Kapoor stars a second time with them.
“There is a comfort you have with an actor the second time around — this is a first for me. Even with Alia, it was like a different person, because she’s grown leaps and bounds from SOTY: her command over the language, ease of dialogues and emotions have gone up. She has matured wonderfully — professionally and personally. I thoroughly enjoyed doing scenes with her.”
He had more scenes with Rishi Kapoor in the latest films. “In SOTY, he was uptight and distant because he was our principal. Here, I could see a warmer and funnier side to him. You can see a more mad, senile side to him in the film. And hats off to him, he would sit for four hours everyday for his makeup to be a 90-year-old, and yet at the end of the day he would encourage us to sit with him in his room, socialise at night. So, I got to know him better. He is all head and heart, and there is no filter. He says everything out.”
