Siddharth is visibly excited about his OTT debut with Escaype Live, a show streaming on Disney+ Hotstar from May 20, which talks about how far one can go for fame on social media. The actor, who has completed two decades in the industry, talks about being choosy from the beginning, how he runs away from fame and for the first time opens about the Twitter controversy with ace shuttler Saina Nehwal which led him to go off Twitter.
You have always been one for experiments. There is every genre in your filmography. As someone who has seen his share of success and failure, how does your past work influence your future decisions?
As an actor, I have been working for almost two decades now and I am very proud of all my work. I completely disagree with words like success and failure. The fact that I get to be an actor and do my dream job for a living and to get paid a lot of money is probably the best thing ever. Some films are received better than others and are not a failure from any point of view. I am not someone who dwells on success or failure. I could have been a successful marketing person after doing my MBA, but I chose not to do it as I didn’t want to do the same thing every day. I also didn’t like the idea of a 9 to 5 job. My choice of films are simple and I don’t want to repeat myself and it challenges me and allows me to explore new facets of my job. I get to be extra choosy because when someone tells me that you will have to follow a certain path to be successful, I don’t take that path. I listen to my heart and I take up projects that excite me and which I would like to watch.
You mentioned the word extra choosy. Isn’t that a deterrent in the industry where visibility is something that matters a lot?
I have been like this since the start of my career. Whether it is my fans, the film fraternity, my colleagues and even my friends in the media, they are all aware of my style of working. So it doesn’t bother me and it doesn’t surprise anyone. If I like something, I will go all out to work for it. If I don’t like the script, I don’t work. I only work when I have full conviction and whether that leads to calling me choosy or any other thing, it’s fine. I also have other things to do in life. I sing in films, I write, I produce films and I also have a life outside cinema so I have tried to keep a balance as an actor, producer, entrepreneur who is running a company, a member of my family and an activist who has an opinion.
How do you look at the two decades that you have spent in the industry?
21 years back, I started out as a hero and even today people cast me as a hero and don’t give me any supporting characters. The fact that I am doing a big show like Escaype Live with some amazing talent and technicians is simply amazing. I am getting a lot of feedback and everyone says that it is incredible to headline a show like this. If two decades back you’d tell me that you are going to frontline a show, I would have probably laughed.
What were the motivations of taking up Escaype Live?
When I read the script of Escaype Live, I actually felt like watching it. It talks about social media in all its madness and how far people will go for attention, fame or money. It was touching on a lot of topics that I discuss on a daily basis. It is one of the most complex characters I have played. There is no conventional heroism that my character goes about doing, but the consequences of his decisions are tremendous. I had to be realistic and subtle without being boring.
Did the role require any kind of preparation?
I am Tamilian and I am playing a Kannadiga in a Hindi series. I play a software guy from Bangalore called Krishna Rangaswamy. So I have to speak Hindi like a Kannadiga would. A Kannadiga watching the show must believe I am a guy from Bangalore. When I am playing a Kannadiga, I don’t want to be insensitive to their sentiments, especially in an age where everyone can voice their opinion on social media. So, I spent a lot of time learning the language.
The show talks about how far people will go for attention. How far would you go for fame?
Fame, like anything else, is an addiction. It is a substance that can be used or abused. You can live with it only till the time you control it. The moment it starts taking control, you enter a dangerous zone. When I started out, the media would often say that the person who doesn’t like fame is lying as everyone wants to be famous and I guess it holds true even today. The funniest thing that I can tell you is that I have gone very far to ‘not be famous.’ I run away from fame and I try to hide myself. Many people don’t know but from the beginning of my career, I don’t agree with the concept of fame. I am not fond of being famous. I have been brought up in Delhi and if I feel like having chaat or kebabs at a particular place, I still do it. I like to live my life the same way before I became famous. I have never wanted to be a star. I don’t identify as a hero. I hate that word.
Talking about social media, you decided to go off Twitter earlier this year after you received a backlash after responding to a tweet of Saina Nehwal on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security breach in Punjab.
Even before social media, as an actor I was told to give interviews every week and attend parties and get clicked by the paparazzi or else people will forget you. I never attended dinner parties nor did I hand out bouquets to anyone. You have to listen to what people say but do what you feel is right. When you are in a position of power, like I find myself very powerful because I have been working for two decades with some of the finest filmmakers, I decided to stay away for four months because of the glare and divert that attention. I have the power to do it. I am lucky that I can step away from social media. Whenever I need to come back, I can do that.
Would you come back on Twitter?
I don’t think there are any extreme statements being made. I am currently observing from outside. I haven’t made any hard and fast decisions. I still use Instagram for positivity and I have people who I care about and see them happy so I post things on Insta. If there is any other platform where I think it is possible to have a decent exchange, I would still encourage social media. But if there is any platform that is not just loaded with lies and toxicity but also bots who are not human beings, I’d like to stay away. I believe social media should be used as a tool and not the other way round.
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