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EXCLUSIVE- Sidharth Malhotra: After Ittefaq, my family has a little more respect for me and my craft
Sidharth Malhotra gets candid about his role in Ittefaq, his family's reaction to it, taking risks and sharing screen space with Sonakshi Sinha and Akshaye Khanna.
Sharing screen space with meticulous actor like Akshaye Khanna, it is all the more difficult to stand out and get talked about. However, Sidharth Malhotra managed to impress everyone with his convincing performance as Vikram Sethi in Ittefaq. The movie has been performing decently at the box office with Sid's performance, in particular, making the noise.
In a tête-à-tête with Pinkvilla, Sid got candid about his role in Ittefaq, his family's reaction to it, taking risks and sharing screen space with Sonakshi Sinha and Akshaye.
Here's an excerpt from the interview:
On receiving great response from the critics and audiences alike?
It feels great. When I was signing up for Ittefaq, it was only for the creative aspect of it as it is not a commercial film, it has no song, dance and location. It is purely for me as an actor to explore this character, to show different shades to him. I am not playing a typical hero and it is satisfying when people send you messages that we like this scene and that dialogue.
However, does the box office limitations for such film bother you?
Talking about the box office angle also, it is doing great with the kind of budget we have. Anyways, it was never a stress in this film because it was not the reason we did that. It was not supposed to be a big money spinner. Our major point was that people should connect with the character and it was not a safe choice as an actor too.
That being said I have never made safe choices in the past because all my films have had an edge to it, had a different zone to it, the characters were never typical so Ittefaq for me happened at a very interesting time when I needed this kind of boost and this kind of response. People are surprised with the performance and the conviction, so I am very happy. I feel as an actor it is very fulfilling and satisfying and this also pushes me more to take better and risky chances.
You had portrayed dual side of one character- the innocent and guilty one. How did you prep for it?
I think I have done the maximum prep for this movie. Abhay is the first time director needed some kind of support as well. I spent a lot of time with him doing workshops and readings. We performed mock scenes so that helped.
Since Ittefaq was marketed as the remake of the 1969 thriller Ittefaq, did you feel the pressure of being compared to Rajesh Khanna who starred in the original?
Well, I think, that not watching the original helped because this is pretty much an original story except the premise. So that helped because it doesn't pull you over your head, doesn't make you feel that 'unhone aise kia toh main bhi aise karun.' I approached it as a proper fresh story, script and character because the characters are also very different. So I was more consumed about how will I pull off so and so scenes and make them convincing as opposed to looking at comparisons.
If audiences' reaction is to be seen, they are touting it to be a better film than the original. Your comments?
We have adapted it much younger, it has much more clever plots, it is more 2017 and it is shot wonderfully. Also, it is pacier, it is just 100 minutes.
Do you think the no promotion strategy worked in film's favour? How does it feel not promoting it at all?
Very good. There is no guarantee actually. On the hind side, looking at the numbers we did on day one, koi farak nahi pada. In fact, it is a good thing that we did not promote even if we would have pushed ourselves, we would have got the same number because of the content. Also, it worked for this film because it is a thriller, murder mystery. We can't go out and say that it is the best thriller and look out for the twist because it sounds weird. It is a content film and a content film works best when the content speaks for itself and I think that is what is happening for Ittefaq. People are going with a clean slate for it and not getting swayed by other opinions, people are guessing who the killer is. I think the interval point is interesting for many as I saw in one of the screenings I went to there was so much chatter as to who the killer is and they were really using their head to solve the mystery, which is a great success for the team.
How did your family react after watching Ittefaq?
They loved it and they found a great amount of conviction in my performance. They were very very happy and proud and there is little more respect for me and my craft now in their eyes.
Do you think that this appreciation for Sidharth as an actor was due?
Yes, I think absolutely. I think I have not come here to do a particular kind of film or to gain just popularity or just being talked about looks and how he dresses. Of course, I have come here to deliver a certain kind of performance and work on my craft and have a unique variation to it and be convincing at it. In Ittefaq, when people appreciate the performance, the character, the scenes and are convinced by it, it is a great great feeling. It is also satisfying for me as an actor who is not really trained but is learning on the job. As I am receiving texts from people, it is like a stamp that it is purely character performance. There is nothing of me that you would see in it. So I think that it is a big victory for me in a way of proving my craft. Also, I was definitely hoping this reaction and I am happy about that. Sleeping a slightly better now.
On sharing screen space with Sonakshi Sinha and Akshaye Khanna?
It is my first time with both. Akshaye is playing a very important character in the film who guides the audience to what is true and what isn't. I think he has done a great job. He is tremendously talented and underrated actor. It was great to share screen space with him as we had the maximum scenes. His timing is very different and we started appreciating each other's craft as we went into the scenes. So, it was great, people are loving his performances and I am really happy about that as he really ups the film.
Sonakshi and I came together not for a love story or other things but for a thriller. I feel she and I came together for an interesting film.
Finally, after playing a duo role, an action hero, romantic hero, what kind of roles are you looking for?
I think there are a couple of them. One is an out-and-out comedy which is more of a not serious kind and other would be horror. There is a big market for horror in India but people don't explore that much. Superhero, I have already spoken about it. I think we need a superhero in India that needs a great amount of writing and character behind it. if someone manages to crack it and approaches me, I would love to play a superhero which has a number of series behind it.
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