From playing a fresh-faced school student in Student of the Year to showing his dramatic chops as a real-life war veteran in Shershaah, Sidharth Malhotra has come a long way as a Bollywood lead. Here’s a list ranking Malhotra’s best movies along with a handy guide to stream them.
How Sidharth Malhotra went from assistant director to hero
Despite his humble beginnings from Delhi, Malhotra sought to helm an acting career in Mumbai. A long line of auditions ultimately gave way to an opportunity to assist director Karan Johar in his heartwarming 2010 hit My Name Is Khan. Two years later, Malhotra was ready to make his acting debut as one of the leads in Johar’s romantic comedy Student of the Year.
Also debuting in this movie were Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan with the three actors forming a dramatic love triangle. Despite some popular songs and a tinge of Johar’s escapist humour, Student of the Year didn’t rely on a strong narrative. But it’s the young trio’s collective charisma that made the movie stand out at the time.
An ever-reliable rom-com hero
While Student of the Year made him a household name, Malhotra sought to explore more grounded and believable notions of the rom-com genre. So, the flashiness of Karan Johar’s larger-than-life sets eventually gave way to Hasee Toh Phasee, an introspective spin on meet-cute love stories with notable leading turns by Malhotra and Parineeti Chopra.
His subsequent rom-coms couldn’t reach the standard of Hasee Toh Phasee but they continued to show his unconventionally brooding charm. Instead of indulging in any overwhelmingly passionate antics, Malhotra’s romantic heroes are more subtle in their courtships. Some good romances to watch in this case include the time-traveling drama Baar Baar Dekho and the spy comedy A Gentleman.
Ek Villain, Shershaah and more: More serious territory
Not the one to contort his face with any cartoonish silliness, Malhotra’s personality was tailor made for serious roles. This side of his acting was evident in Ek Villain, a tragic romance inspired by the violent Korean thriller I Saw The Devil. Malhotra plays a morally grey ruffian who has a change of heart when he crosses paths with Shraddha Kapoor’s heroine. But when his love life is affected by a merciless villain, Malhotra’s character goes through a dark and violent revenge saga.
An even more nuanced and career-defining performance was that of Indian Army braveheart Vikram Batra in the war biopic Shershaah. Sharing a wholesome romance with co-star-turned-wife Kiara Advani, Malhotra captured the softer side of a wartorn soldier like Batra and then went on to capture the pain of the battleground in the movie’s latter half. With the movie itself picking up the Filmfare for Best Movie, Malhotra also garnered a Best Actor nomination.
Why is Kapoor & Sons Sidharth Malhotra’s best movie?
While Shershaah is definitely a career best as a solo project, Kapoor & Sons is arguably Malhotra’s best movie overall. Shakun Batra’s tearjerker of a human drama captures the everyday trials and tribulations of a dysfunctional family with Malhotra and Pakistani actor Fawad Khan playing brothers with opposite personalities. As they explore their own passions in life, they must also deal with the breaking marriage of their aging parents (played with exceptional dramatic timing by Rajat Kapoor and Ratna Pathak Shah). A goosebump-inducing third act makes Kapoor & Sons an unforgettable watch, a truly mature drama that graces mainstream Bollywood once in a blue moon.
Where to stream Sidharth Malhotra’s filmography?
Shershaah is a Prime Video original while Mission Majnu is a Netflix release. Most of his other theatrical credits have also found a home in these two OTT platforms along with Voot and Eros Now.
