MUMBAI: Sidharth Malhotra- I have seen so many ups and downs before and even after my first film

MUMBAI: Actor Sidharth Malhotra, who
feels he has got validation after the success of his latest film, Shershaah,
talks about the criticism he had to face when there was a lull in his career.

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.”