Film reviews are too black and white: Sidharth Malhotra

Bollywood actor Sidharth Malhotra believes in the power of constructive criticism, and says he takes criticism seriously when it comes from industry insiders.

Within a short span since his debut with Student Of The Year, Sidharth has tasted a fair share of success and failure. Asked whether he has learned to handle criticism better after films like Kapoor & Sons and Baar Baar Dekho, Sidharth says, "Well, I think film reviews don't really help an actor to grow or improve creatively because their words and comments are black and white. And they mostly concentrate on the business potential of a film." He adds, "Only constructive criticism can help us to grow as creative people, as actors. Therefore, I take any constructive assessment seriously, especially when it comes from insiders of the fraternity."

The actor says he tries to do new characters with every film, and then assesses his performance. "These things matter for me to go to the next level. So, I take criticism seriously, depending on where it is coming from."

"Kapoor & Sons earned more than Rs 100 crore at the box office, and people and critics showered their praise on me. And then Baar Baar Dekho happened. I do not live on my success and failure. It's really temporary," he says, and adds, "Our film Brothers earned around Rs 85 crore at the box office. It is not a small number. So, calling the film a failure would be little unfair. But I accept that we couldn't live up to the expectation set by Baar Baar Dekho. Such things happen." The actor says that while he might choose scripts that don't work at times, he still learns something out of that as well.

Sidharth's upcoming film is A Gentleman: Sundar, Susheel, Risky, in which he will be seen in a double role. The film revolves around a case of mistaken identity. Talking about it, he says, "Since both the characters are different from each other, the film caters to a wide audience. It has action, romance, and mystery, so it will appeal to people who love watching action and romance both." He adds, "I had a great time working on it with Raj and DK (director duo of the film) and Jacqueline (Fernandez). She is such a happy girl and has an infectious energy. Hopefully, people will like the film."

The Fox Star Studios film is releasing on August 25.