Sidharth Malhotra feels Shershaah has given him a great sense of validation; remembers his struggling days

Bollywood heartthrob Sidharth Malhotra began his journey as an assistant director on Karan Johar’s film My Name Is Khan. Two years later, he made his acting debut on the big screen with Student of the Year, along with Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan. While he gave us many characters to fawn over, his performance in his last release Shershaah was the one which stole our heart. As he immersed himself into the role of Captain Vikram Batra and gave the most hard-hitting performance of his career, Sidharth proved that hard work truly pays off.

Well, his journey in the film industry has not been all fun and games. Sidharth also had to cross various hurdles to reach where he is today. In a chat with Hindustan Times, Sidharth looked back at his days of struggle. He remembered, “I came to Mumbai 14-16 years ago, when I was 21-22, and I have seen so many ups and downs, whether it was giving auditions as an actor, or modeling, trying to make money to pay rent, and then assisting, then getting a break by getting selected from my audition…”

Talking about how other’s views can only affect you if you let them, he shared, “Eventually, you know if you have done something which is of value, substance, and the audience needs to feel that. I feel it is a great sense of validation Shershaah has given me, which I instinctively felt I want to be a part of. Producers’ hands changed, then directors changed, writers for the film changed! But I said this is what I want to be a part of. All these changes can throw you off.”

Up next, the handsome hunk has three exciting projects in the pipeline-- Mission Majnu opposite National Crush Rashmika Mandanna, Thank God co-starring Ajay Devgn and Rakul Preet Singh, and KJo’s recently announced Yodha, an action thriller.