Siddharth Interview: I take my reputation as actor, filmmaker, human being very seriously

Actor Siddharth’s Instagram handle is ‘World of Siddharth’ and his profile description reads, ‘Eat.Drink.Laugh.Repeat.’ Looking at his filmography, and his offscreen persona, it is clear that Siddharth is clearly happy in his own world. He exudes a magnetism that is a testament to his self-awareness. Completely aware that he is stereotyped into chocolate boy roles considering his roles in films like Bommarillu, Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana, 180, Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi, and more, Siddharth is constantly working around it. One such attempt is this week's release, Takkar, directed by Karthik G Krish. “I didn’t want to become an action hero, but Takkar gave me a chance to play a believable one. In this film, my character, Gunz, is an angry young man who wants to make money. At some point, he becomes an action hero, and I'm sure the audience will root for him,” the actor mentions.

Interestingly, more than his character arc, it was his co-star Divyansha's role that intrigued Siddharth first. “I can imagine my character existing even 25 years back, but this woman is completely different, and it became the X factor. She is unapologetic, and has her reasons to believe the world is a certain way. Be it her views on men or her disbelief in love, everything felt new. When she meets my character, who left his place to make money and is frustrated about failing, I found it interesting to know what happens between them.” In fact, it is this reasoning for the romance between the leads that drives Siddharth to greenlight a script. 

While the romantic layers were on point, Takkar also gave Siddharth the chance to explore action in his films, and interestingly, he equates it with doing a comedy film where the result lies in the audience's belief in the world.  “Becoming an action hero is definitely hard, but with a taskmaster like Karthik, we could achieve the results. I have worked with 25 first-time directors but with all due respect, none have worked with me again. But with Karthik, we will be collaborating again” reveals Siddharth.

For Takkar, Siddharth trained with Vietnamese martial artists to ensure he performed stunts with flair. “It is important to learn the falling techniques, stand firmly after a stunt, and we trained each shot before recreating them. Learning such hardcore skills is completely new to me,” says Siddharth, who believes his audience will be encouraging of him trying out new things.

Having made an indelible mark in the romance genre, which he refers to as 'timeless,' Siddharth often finds himself breaking out of the stereotypes. “In the last decade, I have not done such films because the genre is so powerful and once you become part of the audience's mind, it becomes difficult for you to do other things,” says Siddharth, who starred in Jigarthanda, Kaaviya Thalaivan, Enakkul Oruvan, Aval, and Aruvam, during the past decade. 

If his onscreen persona over the last decade defined his versatility, he became an important voice in real life after his opinions on matters concerning the nation became sought after. “I take my reputation as an actor, filmmaker, and human being very seriously. I don’t work for money and it is not my driving force,” says Siddharth, who is now currently away from Twitter, a place where he thrived, and of course, received trolling and backlash. “While I do voice out issues, I want to be known as an actor first and not hold the focus on my anger on burning issues. I wish to stand with my producers who are giving me a glorious line-up of films. I need to take care of my priorities, and most importantly, I have to be happy and alive. Call it self-defence, change of priority, strategy, or self-preservation, I know that I am the same Siddharth even now.”

An actor, an activist, a producer, and an aspiring filmmaker, the multi-faceted Siddharth has been away from the theatres for four years. During this time, Siddharth has starred in two OTT series, Navarasa and Escaype Live, and has observed the reduced attention span of the audience. “Filmmakers like Adoor Gopalakrishnan had the command to make films as slow as possible. But now, even a three-second gap can distract an audience prone to multitasking. Now, we should form relationships with the audience right from the film's conception to promotion, and its release.”

With Takkar releasing both in Tamil and Telugu, inadvertently the question of pan-India rises. One of the early movers of this phenomenon, Siddharth has dabbled across languages through his films right from his early days in cinema. “In 2000s, we used multiple clapboards and uttered the same lines in many languages. Dubbing the same film in other languages and giving one YouTube interview doesn’t make it pan-Indian. It’s an idea created by those in between the audience and filmmakers. I was once asked when we will do crossover films, which meant collaborating with Hollywood. But then, it was important for the collaboration to happen within the country, which is what is happening now," says Siddharth.

With Takkar finally hitting the screens, Siddharth brims with joy about the takkar of a time he will have in the foreseeable future with glorious films — Indian 2, Chittha, The Test — lined up for release. “In the next 18 months, six of my films will be released, and it will be my life’s best line-up. It will include films made on a 100-crore budget, commercial entertainers, new-age films, multistarrers, and more. We are also looking to phase out the releases to ensure one of them hits every three months," he adds.

While the actor Siddharth seems to be on an upward swing, the erstwhile assistant of Mani Ratnam continues to harbour direction dreams. "It has always been my dream, and to realise it, I have to stop acting for a year. I am sure I will never act while I direct, and I want to get to a position where I have achieved enough and can afford to take a break and return to acting after directing a film. With six interesting releases lined up, the results of my efforts will soon be there for all to see. But above all, I aspire to get the recognition, love, and respect that I deserve," signs off a confident Siddharth.