One year after the film Ek Villain, Sidharth Malhotra is now returning in a bulked-up role for his portrayal in Brothers. For someone who started off with a boy-next-d oor act in Student of the Year and went soft and sweet in Hasee Toh Phasee, Malhotra has proved |his versatility. Bollywoodhungama’s JOGINDER TUTEJA chats to the actor.
The FILM’S very title, Brothers, conveys that it has a great deal of emotional quotient to it. Was that one of the major factors for you to pick up this one?
That, and action. After so many years, a film like this has come along. It was exciting to be in the ring and learn martial arts. As a kid, I had seen films like Rocky and the ones starring Jackie Chan. In India, though, we haven’t seen such a film with a ring. You know, just wearing those gloves gives you so much energy. As for the point you mention, then yes, at the core of it, this is an emotional film. If you do action without emotion then it is boring. What works for Brothers is the whole family emotion. Here we have two brothers fighting; it is basically K3G (Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham) with MMA (smiles).
Guess you enjoy getting emotional as well as the kicks and punches.
For four months after Ek Villain, I was at home and only prepping for Brothers. That said, it was all thoroughly enjoyable. When the time came for kicking and punching, it was super fun.
Contrary to typical family entertainers where brothers are shown walking shoulder-to-shoulder, this one gets you into a ring. As an actor, how did you handle this antithesis of relationships?
As an actor, you just feel blessed and lucky to get to choose something as spectacular as this from what is being offered. I had the same thought for Ek Villain which I just grabbed. Now with Brothers I wanted to show versatility. The whole sporty angle is very new, the transformation is very new. My look, my hair has changed; I look like a different person. I can be a different character in every film. I don’t look like I did earlier.
So tell us more about your future plans as an actor?
I want to convincingly adapt to both worlds, be it a romantic hero or indulge in hard- hitting action. If I can convince the audience that I can handle soft parts as well as tough characters, that would be cool. Now my next two films, Kapoor & Sons and then the love story with Katrina Kaif, are entirely different to Brothers. – Bollywoodhungama.com