Acting
Was
Never
His
Childhood
Dream
"Dad
was
working
in
the
Merchant
Navy
and
we
have
always
been
a
service
class
family.
So
that
‘I
can
be
an
actor'
never
occurred
to
me.
I
never
believed
that
I
could
do
that.
I
used
to
feel
kya
faayda
kar
ke."
But
"There
was
a
subtle
spark
when
I
saw
Dilwale
Dulhania
Le
Jayenge.
My
brother
and
my
mum
saw
me
doing
the
SRK
pose,
dancing
to
Tujhe
dekha
toh."
'They
Would
Make
Fun
Of
Me'
"They
would
make
fun
of
me
saying,
‘Tujhe
hero
banna
hai
kya?' My
family
used
to
feel
ki
masti
kar
raha
hai
and
there's
no
seriousness
to
me
being
an
actor
or
model.
Because
of
that
environment,
I
never
truly
believed
in
becoming
an
actor
too."
'I
Was
More
Into
Sports'
"I
was
never
interested
in
drama
in
school
because
I
didn't
believe
that
I
could
perform
well.
Even
in
school,
I
was
more
into
sports.
I
think
everything
happened
by
accident,
so
when
I
look
back
now,
I
know
that
I
was
copying
that
DDLJ
song
for
a
reason!"
'I
Was
Terrible
In
Studies'
"I
was
terrible
in
studies.
I
was
good
till
class
eighth
and
ninth."
'I
Made
Girlfriends
And...'
"As
soon
as
I
made
girlfriends,
I
became
bad!
(Laughs)
I
started
dating
and
I
got
totally
distracted.
Also,
maybe
I
think,
I
wasn't
ready
to
get
educated
back
then.
If
somebody
taught
me
something
right
now,
I'd
learn
it.
I
was
a
bit
distracted
as
a
child."
'I
Went
To
Rishikesh
&
I
Changed'
"I
was
a
lost
child,
who
didn't
have
clear
dreams.
It
all
started
when
I
turned
17-18.
After
that
I
went
to
Rishikesh
and
I
changed.
I
enjoyed
the
river
rafting
there
and
I
thought
I
would
become
an
instructor
for
adventure
sports."
'Then
Modelling
Happened'
"But
then
modelling
happened.
I
saw,
‘Arre
waah,
ramp
pe
chalne
ko
milta
hai
and
you
get
money.
It's
so
easy.'
Then,
in
my
19-20s,
I
was
hit
by
this
sudden
realisation
when
someone
liked
my
audition
and
I
thought,
I'd
better
go
to
Mumbai
and
try
it.
So
it
was
deep
down
inside."
'I
Kept
Everything
To
Myself'
"Because
I
was
extremely
introverted,
I
kept
everything
to
myself
at
that
time.
It
was
so
far-fetched
that
I
didn't
have
the
confidence
to
tell
people
ki
main
hero
banunga."
Sidharth
On
How
He
Began
His
Modelling
Stint
"A
friend
got
five
to
six
of
us
entry
into
a
club
and
after
two
hours,
we
realised
that
the
party
was
actually
a
hunt
for
new
faces
for
Elite
Modelling
Agency.
Two
friends
of
mine
and
I
were
selected
along
with
three
girls.
We
got
a
free
scholarship
for
the
agency
and
the
ball
started
rolling.
I
was
shy
and
they
liked
that
about
me.
There
were
a
series
of
photoshoots
that
led
to
a
nice
snowballing
effect
with
me
coming
to
Mumbai
and
trying
to
be
an
actor."
His
First
Pay
Cheque
"My
first
photoshoot
was
for
a
Samsung
phone.
We
finished
in
five-six
hours
and
they
paid
me
Rs
5,000.
Sab
kaat-kutake
Rs
3,000
mila
mujhko,
after
commission
and
tax.
I
gave
that
to
my
mom
and
she
felt
good.
That
was
all
I
wanted
to
do
during
my
college
and
make
money.
So
they
thought
it
will
be
that
only!"
But
Then
"They
were
surprised
when
the
audition
worked
out
and
someone
gave
me
a
contract
of
a
movie
at
21-22
and
I
came
to
Mumbai."
A
Film
With
Anubhav
Sinha
"It
was
a
film
with
Anubhav
Sinha.
An
action
film
made
with
newcomers,
which
Adlabs
was
producing
at
that
time.
It's
funny
because
I'm
friendly
with
Adlabs
owner
Aarti
Shetty
now.
So
whenever
I
see
her,
I
keep
telling
her
that
you
are
the
reason
I
came
here."
The
Twist
"Anubhav
Sinha
got
Ra.One.
He
left
us
(Smiles).
So
then,
I
walked
out
of
it.
I
was
feeling
really
low
at
that
point
because
mujhe
laga
ki
contract
dikhaya
and
ab
nahi
ho
raha.
I
knew
I
had
to
be
serious
about
everything
and
I
started
modelling,
making
money
on
the
side.
I
tried
renting
a
house
in
Mumbai,
which
was
another
painful
process."
'People
Rejected
Me'
"People
rejected
me
on
various
points.
Someone
rejected
me
outright
because
I
wanted
to
become
an
actor.
Someone
didn't
give
me
a
house
because
I
eat
non-vegetarian
food.
Sometime,
people
refused
to
budge
when
it
came
to
rent.
I
told
them
I
couldn't
afford
it
and
requested
them
to
reduce
the
rent
by
Rs
1000
-
Rs
2000
but
they
wouldn't
understand.
Life
taught
me
a
lot
about
it."
His
Struggling
Days
"For
about
one-and-half
to
two
years,
I
stayed
with
people.
In
a
one-and-half
bedroom
flat
in
Juhu.
The
half
bedroom
was
mine
whereas
the
bigger
bedroom
had
both
the
other
flatmates.
We
all
used
to
contribute
some
Rs
10000
to
the
rent
and
then
there
were
electricity
and
food
bills.
I
didn't
have
a
proper
job
like
the
other
two,
I
was
the
only
one
to
have
an
AD's
job.
I
used
to
wake
up
first
and
I
remember
none
of
us
used
to
shop
for
groceries
or
anything.
So
predominantly,
I
would
get
up
and
realise
eggs
nahi
hai.
I
would
walk
down
every
second
morning,
get
bread,
eggs
and
then
boil
them,
toast
the
bread,
eat
that
and
keep
some
for
the
roommates.
It
was
more
like
a
hostel.
We
partied
and
had
our
share
of
fun."
When
Sidharth
Spent
Half
Of
His
Pay
Cheque
In
Giving
His
Friends
A
Dinner
Treat
"I
had
not
told
my
roommates
that
I
was
doing
a
film.
(Student
Of
The
Year) So
I
took
them
and
my
other
friends
out
for
dinner.
I
got
the
first
cheque
of
Rs
1,10,000.
So
I
told
them
I'm
doing
a
Karan
Johar
film
and
they
were
all
excited.
After
four
hours
of
partying,
the
bill
that
came
was
of
Rs
55,000!
I
spent
it
all.
I
didn't
feel
bad
because
I
knew
that
moment
will
never
come
back.
I
will
never
get
to
celebrate
signing
my
first
film
again.
Even
if
that
meant
spending
half
my
pay
cheque,
so
be
it.
At
least,
I
had
fun
and
we
still
remember
that
night."
'I
Completely
Felt
Out
Of
The
Place
In
The
Beginning
On
The
Sets
Of
Student
Of
The
Year'
"I
was
extremely
nervous.
My
palms
were
sweaty.
I
was
not
too
aware,
nobody
told
me
that
I
had
to
do
any
kind
of
homework.
I
started
fumbling
really
badly.
My
co-stars
Varun
and
Alia
at
least
had
that
comfort
because
they
were
aware
of
how
things
happen.
I'd
never
seen
an
actor
rehearse.
They
had
seen
actors
rehearse,
prepare
and
then
perform,
cheat
at
times
for
camera,
use
glycerine
and
cry.
So
definitely
the
whole
process
of
rehearsing,
dance
-
I
completely
felt
out
of
place
in
the
beginning."