Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Lights, camera and lots of action

SIDHARTH MALHOTRA UNVEILS HIS MACHO SIDE IN MARJAAVAAN

by MOHNISH SINGH


FEARLESS actor Sidharth Malhotra has never shied away from pushing the envelope and experimenting with his roles in a way that most actors don’t.

He was last seen in Jabariya Jodi earlier this year, where he played a Bihari man who kidnaps greedy grooms and won praise for his performance.

The dashing star’s new film Marjaavaan sees him portray an intense man, who can go to any length for his love. The powerful movie also features Tara Sutaria, Rakul Preet Singh and Riteish Deshmukh in key roles.

Ahead of the release of Marjaavaan on November 15, Eastern Eye caught up with Sidharth Malhotra in Mumbai to talk about the film, what led him to take up the role and his upcoming projects. The actor also opened up about staying away from the web-space and more.

With Marjaavaan, you return to the action space again. How does it feel?

I am entering into the action space after three to four films – last was Gentleman (2017) – and this kind of action after Ek Villain (2014) and Brothers (2015). Here, I am beating up 10 more people, pulling up tankers and breaking helmets. But Marjaavaan is larger-than-life. It’s an intense love story, but its treatment is giving it a, I would say, 70s and 80s cinema kind of feel. Because my director was very convinced by it and I am also a big fan of that era, we are trying to do something new with an intense, passionate love story.

Is this more challenging than the normal roles you get in today’s times?

It requires more conviction from an actor’s point-of-view, because it is all about the attitude and the personality on screen. You want to stand there, show that anger and beat up that many people, and have a style. I have been a fan of these elements in a film. I am a huge fan of Amitabh Bachchan, Sunny Deol and Sanjay Dutt. It helps me at least to believe in this kind of cinema. I think our Indian audience likes this journey that you take them through in those two hours, and we are hoping to entertain them with our intense love story.

What drew you to be a part of Marjaavaan?

I met (director) Milap Zaveri a year ago before his film Satyameva Jayate (2018) released and said I wanted to do an intense love story. He replied that he had one. And that is when I heard the script of Marjaavaan. It had action also, which I liked. Then we realised we needed somebody unique for the villain’s character. That’s how Riteish Deshmukh came on board. That is where the project became interesting because it’s a cast friendly film.

Tell us more… 

I think it is a great role for Riteish. For the first time, we see a negative character being played by a dwarf. Today, we have the technology to do it, and I think he is very entertaining in the film. Apart from being menacing – and, yeah, the child in me wanted to play the hero always – I got very excited and said to myself that let’s play a quintessential hero for a change. In the trailer, we see an undercurrent of religious references to mythology.

Is that the USP of the film?

It is not a take on a religion! It is not a religious conflict. The conflict is about just power and what happens to the love story. It’s incidental that these lines are there in the trailer. You have to see the film to know more. We have one more trailer, which focuses on the love story and is predominantly about the film. Marjaavaan is essentially a love story between my character and Tara Sutaria’s. She is mute in the film, so it makes it special and innocent. What happens in their lives is what you see in the film.

The movie has good music. Which is your favourite song in the film?

I love the two love songs that we have, Tum Hi Aana and Thodi Jagah. I like both songs, but Thodi Jagah, if given enough time, would become as good. We are happy that the music of the film is working because the love story is an essential part of the film. People are also loving the visuals on the music.

How was it to work with Riteish Deshmukh for the second time?

This film has a lot of reunions. It is me and Riteish Deshmukh, me and Rakul Preet, me and Milap Zaveri (who also wrote Ek Villain). Tara Sutaria was a new entry. It was great working with everyone. Whenever Riteish Deshmukh comes in my love story, the girl dies. He is the main reason I don’t get the girl at the end. (Laughs) I have to stop doing love stories with him. But it is interesting to have this kind of pairing where he is the antagonist. Here, he has come in a new avatar and it’s so refreshing to see him like this. It adds a lovely flavour to the film.

The special effects used in the film are great…

It’s just technology that we have used and suddenly the impact is different. You know a guy who is vertically challenged and doing such menacing things, looking up to you and saying such stuff. It’s very interesting. It is going to be really fresh for the audience. Shooting it was at times tedious. We had to use a green screen. Sometimes when he is standing, I am staring at his crotch, saying the lines because the eye-line has to match. Also, somebody who saw from the outside, found it really funny. Sometimes we were talking to thin air because he had to be placed in it during editing. I think technically shooting with such a character sometimes becomes tedious, but the final product feels great. You started your career as an assistant director.

Would you like to go behind the camera someday and helm a project?

I love the process of filmmaking. Everything about the business I have learnt from being an assistant director. I never went to a film school, so that was like a film school for me. Maybe, but not in the next few years. I am hungry and selfish as an actor right now.

Many actors are venturing into the digital space. Do you have any plans?

Again, it has not excited me as such. There is enough audience and a variety of roles to play in films. So far, it has not intrigued me so much to play a character in that medium because we are getting to play such different characters in movies. I have made sure all my films look different, from different worlds.

What are your upcoming releases?

I am shooting for Shershaah, which is a biopic of captain Vikram Batra.

This is your first biopic. Did you find it challenging?

Every film is challenging and not easy. Shershaah has its own difficulties in terms of shooting and locations. It is a film based in the 1990s and about the Kargil war. He has a twin, so I am playing a twin brother as well. I had been trying to make that film for two-and-a-half years. Finally, producer Shabbir Boxwala and I took it to Dharma Productions, and we are making the film today. So, we still have the shooting left. By the way, Shershaah was his (Vikram Batra) code name at Kargil war.

Do you have a dream role?

I think a superhero character. India doesn’t have a superhero character, which is our own desi version, and if any writers are listening and they have any character that we can build on, I am in. There is so much potential to create something here. The West is doing so well; we all watch their superheroes. It has to be new as I don’t want to emulate anybody. India has to have a new one. If you copy Superman what is the point.

The audience wants to see you in an out-and-out comedy. Have not you been offered anything all these years?

There are so many genres, but an out and out comedy has not been set up. Jabariya Jodi was an attempt to make a light film. Kapoor & Sons (2016) is light, but it is not a ‘ha-ha’ comedy. Let’s see if I get any comedy in the future.

Marjaavaan is in cinemas now

More For You

Raynor Winn

The controversy, now widely referred to as The Salt Path scandal

Getty Images

Raynor Winn calls Salt Path scandal claims 'highly misleading' amid backlash

Highlights

  • The Salt Path author Raynor Winn calls media claims “highly misleading”
  • Allegations published in The Observer raise doubts about key memoir details
  • PSPA charity ends relationship with Winn and her husband Moth
  • Winn pulls out of Saltlines tour but is still scheduled for literary events

Author rejects claims as legal advice sought

Raynor Winn, the author of the best-selling memoir The Salt Path, has strongly denied accusations that parts of her book are fabricated, describing recent media coverage as “highly misleading” and confirming that she and her husband are taking legal advice.

The controversy, now widely referred to as The Salt Path scandal, follows an Observer report that disputes aspects of the memoir’s central narrative, including the timeline and medical diagnosis that prompted the journey at the heart of the book.

Keep ReadingShow less
Jasbinder Bilan

Jasbinder Bilan

Jasbinder Bilan’s journey of heart and heritage: From Himalayan tales to global acclaim

When Jasbinder Bilan first paused her teaching career to pursue a creative writing degree, she had no idea it would lead to a life-changing breakthrough. What began as a leap of faith became a journey filled with hope, rejection and ultimately triumph. Inspired by her beloved grandmother and her Indian roots, Bilan poured her soul into her debut manuscript Song of the Mountain. Though the publishing world was not immediately ready for her story, perseverance paid off when she won the 2016 Times Chicken House Prize, launching her celebrated writing career. Now, following the success of her Costa Award-winning Asha and the Spirit Bird, Bilan returns with a powerful new historical adventure, Naeli and the Secret Song. In this exclusive interview, she speaks about the emotional inspiration behind the book, her love for young readers and the importance of believing in your voice — no matter how long it takes to be heard.

What first connected you to writing?
It was stories more than writing that were my first love. My grandmother, Majee, was the storyteller in our house and it was those bonding moments that sparked my love for creating my own stories. She told me lots of Indian folk tales at bedtime, but she also shared stories of our life in India on the farm near the foothills of the Himalaya. So, I grew up feeling connected to a place that I then filled with my imagination. As a little girl I loved drawing and writing, and always wanted to be a writer, but it took me a long time to make that dream come true.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rachel Zegler’s ‘Evita’ Performance Sparks Broadway Buzz

Rachel Zegler stuns in Jamie Lloyd’s Evita as Palladium crowds grow nightly

Instagram/officialevita

Rachel Zegler shines in Jamie Lloyd’s ‘Evita’ as West End hit eyes Broadway transfer

Quick highlights:

 
     
  • Rachel Zegler plays Eva Perón in Jamie Lloyd’s radical Evita revival at the London Palladium.
  •  
  • A viral moment features Zegler singing live from the theatre’s balcony to crowds on the street.
  •  
  • Lloyd’s stripped-down staging amps up visuals and sound but sacrifices storytelling depth.
  •  
  • Talks are on for a Broadway transfer as early as 2026 with Zegler confirmed to reprise her role.
  •  
 

Rachel Zegler commands the London stage as Eva Perón in Jamie Lloyd’s daring reimagining of Evita, a production that trades subtlety for spectacle and could soon be heading to Broadway.

Following the success of Sunset Boulevard, Lloyd’s signature stripped-down style meets rock concert intensity in this revived version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical. Zegler, in only her second major stage role, dazzles with commanding vocals and presence, even as critics debate the show’s dramatic clarity.

Keep ReadingShow less
K Anis Ahmed

K Anis Ahmed’s new novel Carnivore is as imaginative as it is provocative

AMG

K Anis Ahmed’s 'Carnivore' serves up satire, class war and moral rot

From the blood-soaked backstreets of Dhaka to the polished kitchens of Manhattan’s elite, K Anis Ahmed’s new novel Carnivore is as imaginative as it is provocative. A satirical thriller steeped in class tension, culinary obsession and primal survival, Carnivore follows Kash, a Bangladeshi immigrant-turned-chef who launches a high-end restaurant serving exotic meats – only to become embroiled in a sinister world of appetite and ambition.

But this is no simple tale of knives and recipes. Ahmed – a seasoned journalist, publisher, and president of PEN Bangladesh – brings a sharp eye to the grotesqueries of power and privilege. In this exclusive interview with Eastern Eye, he speaks about his passion for food, the moral murkiness of his characters, and why even the most ordinary people can spiral into extraordinary darkness.

Keep ReadingShow less
Artists respond to a world shaped
by division at Summer Exhibition

Visitors view works in the main gallery

Artists respond to a world shaped by division at Summer Exhibition

THE theme of the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition 2025 is “dialogues”, prompting the question: can art help bring together the people of India and Pakistan? Or, indeed, Israel and Iran – or Israel and Palestine?

It so happens that the coordinator of this year’s Summer Exhibition is the internationally celebrated artist and Royal Academician Farshid Moussavi, who is of Iranian origin.

Keep ReadingShow less