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 Sons. We caught up with the 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.
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 him using dirty Hindi and Punjabi words, 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.”
Quiz him about his close friends from Bollywood and Sidharth says, “Varun Dhawan, Karan Johar, Aditya Rao Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor — we meet on birthdays, festivals and special occasions.”
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 says, “Udta Punjab is releasing in June and I’m also working on another film by Gauri Shinde.” Adds Sidharth, “I’m doing Baar Baar Dekho with Katrina Kaif and an action film.”
