Sidharth Malhotra: I felt like more an outsider when I had not joined the industry

Sidharth Malhotra is one of the versatile actors in Bollywood. Recently, in an interview with a leading Indian daily, Sidharth revealed that he played a part in an unreleased film before debuting in Karan Johar’s Student of the Year. “Until I shot for SOTY, I didn’t know what was happening. Earlier, I was a part of a film which I was prepping for, but it never took off. That was my first lesson — you can’t take a confirmation for granted. It took me four years to get another film and I learnt a lot in life [during that period] — from managing my budget for rent to getting a job and moving in the right direction,’’ he said.

Sidharth Malhotra was an assistant director in My Name Is Khan (2010), before debuting as an actor in Student of the Year. Speaking about his struggles in Bollywood, he said, ‘’I was here (in Mumbai) for a year, only doing photo shoots, because it was giving me money to survive. Then when I started assisting in films, the idea of becoming an assistant director seemed like the best [option]. It made me feel like I was not wasting my time and doing something productive.’’

“I felt like more an outsider when I had not joined the industry. There was so much of negativity then. You would meet people who wouldn’t encourage you, would thumb you down. People tell you ‘ki nahi hoga’. [But] Once I got in, people judged me by my work,” he added.