Sidharth Malhotra Exclusive: I Think Aiyaary Has All Ingredients To Become A Good Box Office Hit

We have seen Sidharth Malhotra essaying different roles in his previous films. He last amazed us with his mysterious character in Ittefaq. His work was quite appreciated by the fans and the critics as we saw something new! Even now, we will see Sid in a different and fresh avatar in his upcoming film, Aiyaary. The whole team of Aiyaary is on a promotional spree and is leaving no stone unturned to promote the film.

Recently, KoiMoi.com met the charming actor and spoke about his upcoming flick, Aiyaary. He spoke about his challenging role, Neeraj Pandey- a dream director of every actor, box office numbers, his upcoming projects and much more!

Excerpts from the interview:

1. Working in a Neeraj Pandey film is a dream of every actor and he is definitely on everybody’s wish list. So how was the feeling when you were approached for Aiyaary?

Absolutely! I first met him a year ago when he was making MS Dhoni: The Untold Story at that time and he had no plans of making Aiyaary then, so it is quite funny! I said, ‘Sir, it will be great to work with you!’ And it so happened that his next film Aiyaary came out suddenly in his head and he brought it down. Then I got a call and it was very interesting to hear the story. He has a unique style of making movies and he is one of the few directors who genuinely want to make a difference in the society and the audience. So Aiyaary is no different, it is about the armed forces but not a war film. We are addressing so many issues within the country- be it corruption or politics…so all this is in the backdrop of a fast-paced thriller. The tussle is between Manoj sir and my character, he is my guru in the film.

So, it was an instant yes! For him, for the story and what he is trying to say, I think he is a fabulous voice and he’s always tried to make a good point with all his movies which I also love about him.

2. In this film, we will see you in a different role and this is something very new and unusual from what we have seen earlier. So how challenging it was for you to essay this role, since we have seen several brilliant Bollywood actors playing the role of an army officer.

Definitely! Without giving out much about the film, I am playing an Army officer. But you would question him whether he is doing right or wrong. As I said it is not a war film, so it is not an action film, it is a thriller where you are trying to cuss out this character if it’s going justice to the armed forces or not. I think that was the challenge to play, the grey within this character and definitely to get into the armed forces and their body language, their personality, they have a way of functioning…so all these preparations I had to do. I also met a lot of Army personnels and spoke to them about their work and mission. Also, we have shot at all real locations. When we shot in Kashmir, we shot at a BSF camp, there I got to meet the jawans first-hand and see how they stay, what they eat, everything! So I think that helped me to bring it about in the film.

3. You know Neeraj Pandey is a master sketcher when it comes to his characters. From the major leads to the minor ones, he depicted every character with brilliance. How was the experience of working with him and how different was his style of working from other directors?

I think his level of involvement is very high because he writes dialogues, he writes the screenplay. So nobody else on set would know more about the film than him. I think that is something for an actor is relaxing because you ask him any question, he has the answer. He’s done the homework for you. I think he is a one-man army on set. So the whole environment was very pro telling the story. He is not someone who will get embroiled in the commercial aspects. I think a director who has that kind of focus on his story would definitely tell something new and interesting. And that’s the reason we all like Neeraj Pandey! (Smiles).

4. The trailer looks amazing and it does create an impact on the viewers. In the trailer, what got my attention was that phone call conversation between you and Manoj Bajpayee. So can we see another A Wednesday like monologue?

There are bits which you will feel that it is similar because two people are not on the same place and talking on the phone, I think that’s the similarity Neeraj sir was referring to. But ya, I loved A Wednesday, it was such an amazing thriller. So if you feel the same with Aiyaary, I will super happy!

5. You are also sharing the screen space with some great actors like Manoj Bajpayee, Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah. How was the experience with them?

Though I share the maximum amount of scenes with Manoj sir because that is where the crust of two characters is based. Unfortunately, I didn’t have many scenes with Anupam sir and Naseer sir. So, that’s my one complaint with Neeraj sir that my character doesn’t interact with Anupam sir or Naseer sir. But as an actor when you know the cast around you has so much experience, it calms you down because you know that they will do their job really well and it helps you to play the character properly. So I think it will be great for the audience to see such a massive cast come together and tell this thriller.