“I couldn’t launch myself,” says Siddharth Malhotra

Siddharth Malhotra turned popular after his debut in Student of the Year. The film was directed by his mentor Karan Johar and was a campus romance packed with Karan’s signature opulence and extravagance. Attaining stardom wasn’t all that easy for this newcomer however. Quoting Siddharth, “When I joined Dharma Productions I was hoping to become either an actor or a filmmaker. It wasn’t a choice. I couldn’t launch myself. Luckily I became an actor. If I wasn’t acting right now then in the next three years I would’ve tried for becoming a director.”

Siddharth started off by assisting director Karan Johar for the film My Name is Khan. As an assistant director, Siddharth better understood the art of filmmaking. This stint also got him noticed by Karan Johar who handpicked him for Student of the Year. “You would know what not to do on sets if you take to learning filmmaking. You would know how important it is for you to come on a particular mark, how camera works, short-breaking, how to say the lines, to do acting, to dub on time etc.” says Siddharth, speaking about his stint as an assistant director.

Student of the Year was a dream come true for Siddharth Malhotra. Speaking about his character in the film, Siddharth articulated, “I am playing a character called Abhimanyu. He is a new kid in town; he is very athletic and has come on a scholarship. He belongs to middle class. But with Dharma Productions and Manish Malhotra there’s no such thing as poor. I am supposed to be a middle class kid with no parents but I enter the college wearing leather jacket, cool shades, jeans, shoes. When I questioned them they said it’s ‘Dharma Garib’. I understood what they meant and played everything with conviction.”