They are an endearing onscreen jodi who we loved in their debut film Student of the Year, and now Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotra are back together with Kapoor and Son’s that’s releasing on March 18. We caught up with the cute stars over a candid chat on their visit to Bengaluru as they spilled the beans on this dramedy that puts the fun back into dysfunctional lives as family secrets unravel, misunderstandings crop up followed by chaos, humour, heartache and redemption.
About Bengaluru, Sidharth quips, “I’ve come to Bengaluru earlier and on my previous visits I went to the Skyye Bar and a girls’ college and I was floored by all the girl fans. A fan even sent me a pillow by courier with her hair on it, and wanted me to use it. She asked me to sleep on it, so she could feel we’re sharing the same bed!”
Alia too has her own memories of the city, “I’ve come here as a kid with my mom and also recently for my films. I also tried Fatty Bao here.”
The story, says Sidharth, is about Rahul (Fawad) and Arjun (Sidharth) who are two estranged brothers and return to their childhood home when their 90-year-old grand dad (Rishi Kapoor) gets a heart attack. “My role is that of an aspiring novelist who doesn’t take life too seriously, loves to make friends and cracks jokes. We spent 40 days in a house in Conoor and I saw a lot of tea estates. Our director Shakun Batra wanted us to giggle, get pally and Fawad’s a little shy, so I started abusing the shit out of him in dirty Hindi and Punjabi, egging him on and he burst out laughing. From that day, it was easy to play brothers.
Alia and I have been friends for a long time now. She has matured personally and professionally. Her Hindi has also improved.” Sidharth talks about his close friends, “Varun Dhawan, Karan Johar, Aditya Rao Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor — we meet on birthdays, festivals and special occasions. My next film is with Katrina Kaif called Baar Baar Dekho and I also have an action film after that.”
Alia who plays the role of Tia, a fun loving person, confident, outgoing and street smart, reveals, “I’m just fortunate that I not only have a family in Bollywood but a mentor in Karan Johar. My close friends who I can really open my heart out to are Karan Johar, Sidharth Malhotra, Ayan Mukerji and Abhishek Barman.
Sidharth and I critique each other too. I have this nasal issue when it comes to dialogue delivery and tend to get high pitched. Since I play a mature character in this film, he would tell me to tone down. After pack up, I’d lie on the grass and stare at the sky. Once Fawad had a laughter fit in the middle of a serious set.”
About her upcoming films, Alia signs off saying, “Udta Punjab is releasing in June and I’m also working on another film by Gauri Shinde.”
