Sidharth Malhotra worked as an assistant director on Karan Johar’s My Name Is Khan before making his acting debut in Student Of The Year (2012) with Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt (2010). He and Varun worked on the Dharma Productions set before the banner launched it. In a new interview, the actor recalled his interactions with Shah Rukh Khan on the sets of My Name Is Khan. The senior actor even gave him some pointers because he knew Sidharth aspired to be an actor.
When Sidharth first arrived in Mumbai as a 21-year-old, he revealed that his parents were sceptical that he would be cast in a film. He did get a film deal, but it never got made. When the project’s directors changed, Sidharth walked out, telling them he no longer believed in the project. He later switched to being an assistant director because he could pick up and learn on a real film set despite never having attended film school.
It was a wise decision because he got to interact with one of his idols. Sidharth told actor-comedian Zakir Khan about working with Shah Rukh Khan on the first day of filming in Los Angeles in a new interview on Netflix India’s YouTube channel. “I had rehearsed for the clap so I wouldn’t fumble in front of him,” he recalled. He was very nice. His friendliness is palpable. It could be due to his upbringing. He makes everyone around him feel at ease. I couldn’t say anything the first day.”
Later, while working on a scene, Shah Rukh began to offer him advice. Sidharth explained, “Only Shah Rukh sir and I were present at that time. It was somewhere along a highway. ‘You know, you should always come and see if you can use anything on location as a prop,’ he said abruptly. ‘There are only two of us here, who is he talking to?’ I wondered. Because he was aware of my desire to be an actor. ‘You have to see if you can use anything,’ he said very sweetly. That’s how sharp he is. He creates a lot of things on the fly. My admiration and love for him grew even stronger as a result.”
Mission Majnu, starring Sidharth and Rashmika Mandanna, debuted on Netflix on January 20. In July 2023, he will also appear in the action thriller Yodha alongside Disha Patani and Raashii Khanna.