Sidharth Malhotra and Shraddha Kapoor take on the villains in their lives

Sidharth Malhotra and Shraddha Kapoor, who were in Bangalore recently to promote their film ‘Ek Villain’, were on a tight schedule. From visiting two different stores at two different parts of the city, to interacting with students at a college and partying at a night club — the duo did it all and more in a day’s time. Shraddha even sang for the audience and practiced a few words of Kannada that a friend taught her.We caught up with the two for a candid chat.
Favourite villain Sidharth: I have a lot of favourite villains. I love Mogambo from Mr India; the late Amrish Puri was really good. There are heroes too who have done a good job as villains, whether it is Shah Rukh Khan in Darr or Sanjay Dutt in Khalnayak. These actors have the ability to be bad onscreen, yet have a likeability factor. They made villains look cool. Shraddha: My favourite is Crime Master Gogo (Shakti Kapoor), who lives in my house. Sidharth: …who made villains look funny… Shraddha: He played one of the most iconic characters that added a comic touch to a dark character. Andaz Apna Apna is one of my all-time favourites.
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A Villain I’d like to play... Shraddha: I would like to play Crime Master Gogi! (laughs) Yes, it is just because I am Shakti Kapoor’s daughter. However, I also think that it will sound cool if people say, ‘Crime Master Gogo ki beti Crime Master Gogi.’ My father just happens to be a celebrity and an actor. But I used to get teased by people. They used to say, “Uske pappa bad roles play karta hai and hume serious hoke death dega.” But once they’d meet him and they’d realise that he is a man with an unbelievable sense of humour. Sidharth: I think it will be cool to play an iconic villain role like Shakal or Mugambo. They were villains in the true sense, larger than life, and did only bad things — either trying to kill people by throwing them in acid or in a water tank full of sharks. At least, I’ll have an interesting den if I am playing one of them.
Villains in their life Sidharth: There are a lot of villains, every now and then we keep criticising people… (trails off and insists on Shraddha answering it first) Shraddha: Right now the diet I am following for my next film, ABCD 2, is playing villain in my life. I am restricted to having things like egg, fish and protein shakes. It’s very tough for me to control, since I love food. But I have to gain muscle weight for the film. (When we insist on a name) My trainer, Praveen, who is making me follow strict rules. But then he is my hero too, because he is helping me reach my goal. Sidharth:Right now, the promotional schedule for this film is playing villain in my life. There is literally not time for anything else. But I hope it all works out well in the end. I am going to play it safe (smiles).
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Bangalore Shraddha: I have been here about five times. I was supposed to do my schooling here, but that did not work out. Later, I shot here for Gori Tere Pyar Mein. I have also visited the city for the promotions of Aashiqui 2. It is a beautiful city. Sidharth: The traffic here is quite unpredictable, which doesn’t allow you to plan your day. South villains Sidharth: I loved the villain in the film Makkhi, Sudeep. They have some unique concepts down south that are not explored in Hindi films. I liked Robot and Makkhi. Shraddha: I don’t follow south films, so I am not familiar with any of the villains here.
Acting in south films Shraddha: I have got some offers from down south, but nothing that has worked out till now. Sidharth: Heroes don’t get as many offers here because audiences expect the hero to speak the language correctly. Heroines can get away by using dubbing artists. From the business angle also, maybe we don’t look convincing enough in terms of mannerisms and body language. Maybe when audiences start accepting us we will have more heroes working here. Rajinikanth sir is a big example of pan-Indian acceptance. Shraddha: I wonder why more actresses are offered more films here than the actors. But, then, Sonu Sood has been doing films here.
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