Bollywood actor Sidharth Malhotra believes in the power of constructive criticism, but says he takes it seriously when it comes from industry insiders.
Asked whether he has learnt to handle criticism better after films such as Kapoor & Sons and Baar Baar Dekho, Malhotra said: “I think film reviews don’t really help an actor to grow or improve creativity because their words and comments are black and white... They are always inching towards negative or positive.”
“And I understand that for them, they mostly concentrate on the business potential of a film.”
He added: “Only constructive criticism can help us to grow as creative people, as actors. Therefore, I take any constructive assessment seriously when it comes from insiders of the fraternity.”
Within a short span since his debut with Student of the Year, Malhotra has tasted a fair share of success and failure.
The actor said he tries to do new characters with every film and then assesses if he has got it right.
“These things matter for me to go to the next level. So, I take criticism seriously, depending on where it is coming from,” he added.
“Kapoor & Sons earned more than Rs100 crore [Rs1 billion, Dh57 million] at the box office and people and critics showered their praise on me. And then Baar Baar Dekho happened. Now you understand... I do not live on my success and failure. It’s really temporary,” he said.
“Our film Brothers earned around [Rs850 million] at the box office. It is not a small number. So, calling the film a failure would be little unfair. But I accept that we couldn’t live up to the expectation set by Baar Baar Dekho. Such things happen... As a young actor, I will choose the script that won’t work at times and I will learn something out of that as well,” Malhotra said.
Malhotra’s upcoming film is A Gentleman: Sundar, Susheel, Risky, in which he will be seen in a double role. The film revolves around a person with a mistaken identity.
“Since both the characters are different from each other, the film caters to a wide audience. It has action, romance, mystery and that interests people who love watching action and romance both,” he said.
“We had a great time working with everyone. Whether it is Raj, DK [director duo of the film] and Jacqueline [Fernandez]... it was so much fun. She is such a happy girl and has an infectious energy. Hopefully, people will like the film.”
The Fox Star Studious film is releasing in India on August 25.
