It’s the people and the system that runs it that’s making it difficult for films to cross over and become pan-Indian winners. He also expressed displeasure with the kind of cinema which was becoming successful in India. That is a mix of my results there as an actor and the industry’s nature of being exclusive and not particularly welcoming as a permanent workplace.” There is no expectation of my stardom in Hindi cinema. It’s a convenient situation where I get to come test a different audience with something interesting every few years. “I’ve never put enough pressure on myself in Hindi cinema for it to be a disappointment. Siddharth dismissed Bollywood as unwelcoming. However the tall talks didn’t translate into great offers of opportunities in Hindi cinema. I judge films on how they justify my conviction in them. Again, good and bad doesn’t reflect commercial success. It’s much better to show your kids 10 good films, than to make excuses to them about why you made 20 bad ones. Acting happened by chance, and the rest is a blur.”ĭidn’t scarce work scare him? “Strangely, scarce work is a really welcome proposition. Then came the assistant director stint with Mani Ratnam for a couple of years. I did my B.Com (Hons) from KMC in Delhi Univ. My school education was spread over Delhi and Chennai. Mani Ratnam, Shankar, Prabhudeva, Rakeysh Mehra.these guys make going to work so much fun.I am a Tamil. It isn’t really my fault that such projects were very few in number also, I am building a CV of serious standing. When I suddenly became a screen actor, I took a reality check, and promised myself to only commit to work that completely excited me. The direction was passionately my ultimate dream. I started off as an assistant director to Mani Ratnam. Why such meagre amount of work? He had an answer for that too. ”Īt one time Siddharth was known as the Aamir of the South. As Mehra would put it, ‘stuff like that’. In effect, he combines state-of-the-art film wizardry with lorry art (Horn please, ok!). He is by far the most ambitious technical filmmaker in Indian cinema. The second area Mehra astonishes you in is his craft. That’s why the friends in RDB jump out from the screen and bite you. His food, his humour, his nostalgia, all swim in hardcore India juice. The first is in the realm of heartfelt Indian storytelling.
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What was the experience of working with Rakeysh? Sid(as he’s called by his friends) had replied, “Mehra is at the cutting edge of two very important horizons. An individual like Aamir really does not deserve them.” RDB should go a long way in rubbishing these silly allegations. It’s a huge stage, and all of us get to run around, just doing our own thing! It always hurt me when people said unfair, accusatory things about Aamir and his attitude towards his coactors’ roles. The reason I believed it could be pulled off was that Aamir was a part of it. The most exciting aspect of RDB at the script stage was this very ambitiously equanimous treatment of all the protagonists. Wasn’t he deterred by the fact that it was an ensemble piece, and the fact that Aamir would get centrestage? “I cannot possibly explain how exciting it is to hear the word ensemble piece with respect to Indian cinema. I was moved by the script, and felt Mehra was definitely on to something.” In two days, I was a part of 'Rang De Basanti'. The moment I read it, I knew this was not a film to reject. They sent me a bound script, and that’s when things really took off. What prompted him to take on 'Rang De Basanti'- his first Hindi film? “Interestingly, I was actually steering clear of industries other than Telugu when Mehra’s office called. I’ve worked on making things happen that wouldn’t have happened otherwise." Not getting better work isn’t an excuse I can use any longer. I’d rather stay home or do something else than go to work on something I don’t enjoy. In an interview he did with me in 2017, Siddharth declared, “It takes time to make films that satisfy me at the stage I’m in. Siddharth was apparently being offered a fee close to Rs 2 crore! But he wasn’t talking about his price, let alone doing the avalanche of films being offered to him. Such …err… cocky conviction for an actor who, at that point of time, had been in the Tamil blockbuster 'Boys' (2003), and the Telugu hit, 'Nuvvostanante Nenodannatana' (2004). At the end of the day, you’ve to look yourself in the eye.”
There’s no point in doing work that makes you unhappy. The only problem,” he revealed shyly after the release of 'Rang De Basanti', “is that I’m very picky. Siddharth was practical enough to realise there wasn’t a clamour by filmmakers waiting for him in Bollywood.
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Parupalli Kashyap slams Siddharth after actor's alleged sexist remarks on shuttler Sainia Nehwal