I have seen so many ups and downs: Sidharth on his struggling days

Mumbai: Actor Sidharth Malhotra might be basking in the success of his last release Shershaah, but it isn’t as if his career has been a perfect ride. There have been downs, and criticism is also something he had to face.

He believes his recent success was his answer to those naysayers. “That is possibly how I function as a person. That is also how my journey has been, whether industry or otherwise. I cam to Mumbai 14-16 years ago, when I was 21-22, and I have seen so many ups and downs, whether it was giving auditions as an actor, or modeling, trying to make money to pay rent, and then assisting, then getting a break by getting selected from my audition…,” recalls the 36-year-old.

Even after he made his acting debut with Student Of The Year (2012), Malhotra says things were not easy either. He says people’s opinions matter ‘as much as you let it affect you’.

“Eventually, you know if you have done something which is of value, substance, and the audience needs to feel that. I feel it is a great sense of validation Shershaah has given me, which I instinctively felt I want to be a part of. Producers’ hands changed, then directors changed, writers for the film changed! But I said this is what I want to be a part of. All these changes can throw you off,” confesses the actor.

As for 2022, it’s already looking to be a hectic one for the actor, with three releases lined up — Mission Majnu, Thank God and Yoddha. After giving a hit, is his strategy towards what kind of films he takes up going to change?

Malhotra says, “I would want to dive more into stories and scripts which can inspire people. That sense of realism gives the audience the feeling that ‘this actually happened’ My intention would be to now find that sense of conviction and realism, and also do commercial films.”