Sidhant Gupta hails from Jammu. His father, Sukesh Gupta, is a retired forest officer, while his mother, Sandhya Gupta, is a fashion designer and social activist. Growing up, his interest lay not in films but in sports. He represented J&K at the national level in under-14 cricket, under-17 swimming, and under-19 basketball. Films were frowned upon in his strict home, and he and his elder brother Sanat used to consider sneaking out and watching films as an adventure. He got into modelling early, becoming the face of many a brand before Bollywood came calling. He was launched with the film Tutiya Dil (2012) and was later seen in films like Badmashiyaan (2015), Bhoomi (2017) and Operation Romeo (2022). He also acted on television in between and was seen in serials like Tahan-E-Ishq (2015), Jhalak Dikhla Jaa (2016), and Inside Edge (2021). Vikramaditya Motwane directed Jubilee (2023), however, which catapulted his fame. Excerpts from an interview with the talented actor.
How have things changed for you since the massive success of Jubilee?
We all want to feel accepted. Everyone who’s out here who’s come to become an actor or to do anything in this field, which is this business of creating a world—it’s cinema. It’s a connection between the film and the audience. A connection is a story, and we, as actors, just bring it to life and live out loud in that world. We all long for acceptance. And Jubilee gave me that. So it’s the feeling of acceptance that’s special to me which makes the success so much sweeter.
What was the impact of working with a director like Vikramaditya Motwane?
When you’re working with someone like that, you know you’re in safe hands. You know that this will be a product where you will be seen and that’s the pressure you want to feel because you also feel responsible for someone who’s been making films and you owe it to him. This world that he’s creating just gives you everything that you have.
What were some of the similarities you could draw between Jay Khanna and yourself?
I was drawing from my own life when I was playing Jay Khanna. His home was taken away. They had to leave Karachi and come as refugees. His whole life was taken away, but then something in him never gave up. I kept thinking that I have been here for a while now and have also been at a point where I wasn’t getting what I needed; no one wanted to sort of work with me. No one was coming to me with projects. The kind of projects that I wanted to do, but something in me never gave up. So that’s connected. It keeps you moving in this city where thousands of actors are trying to find the right role. It’s an intention. It’s sort of this energy that keeps you going. You know all the little dots will join, and you’ll find those parallels.
After playing a complex character like Jay Khanna, what kind of role would you find challenging at this point?
I’d like to do some complex characters that are not like straight lines. Keep finding through this work, and you can also give a lot through this work to characters. Playing a complex character would also make me find those little complexities where he’s living, but people don’t talk about them. If I can just find a way out and give that to people through characters, I think that would be nice. I hope I find such characters.
Was it difficult for you to detach from the role after establishing such a strong connection?
It happens on its own. You don’t realise it, but it is the character that leads you. But you always remember that voice that you found. With Jay, it’s not too far away because I could find it before, so I can find it again. That’s a nice feeling.
Have you become choosy with your scripts post-Jubilee?
I don’t know, but I’d like to get into a script and character that doesn’t leave me easily. So I’m just reading and taking my own time because it took me a long time to find the right reason to do this work. I would like to just lead with that so I can just give everything to a project that I take up. There’s nice stuff that I’m reading; I’m just letting it all sync and making a decision where I have to.
After a period piece like Jubilee, is there a specific genre that you’re looking at?
I think I let the genre find me. I’m open to exploring different worlds, different emotions, like when I watch films—you know, at times I want to just watch a film to just laugh. At times, I want to watch an action-oriented film. I let things find me and they’re finding me.
What was your struggling period like?
It’s been a relationship. It’s like a love affair. You know where you fight with the city and where you just abuse it. But you also love the city a lot and you don’t let go. So I felt all my emotions in this city. I felt lost in the city and I also felt found. And at this point, when I’m living a better life, like I said, when you feel accepted through your work, it’s a big thing.
Did you ever get the urge to give up?
I could not give up. Those questions used to keep hounding me. And when you’re auditioning, everyone is asking and looking at each other. So that uncertainty is like an addiction. I stepped aside. Thankfully, I don’t know how, but I just did step aside and then started asking myself some right questions. Everyone is lost, uncertain and blaming everything. I was like, “Why am I believing? Why am I finding reasons to just control myself?” I decided to find the right reasons to do the right work and you’ll find your way if you have to.
I found mine.
I can derive advice from my journey that has helped me. A question that I asked myself was: “Why am I doing this work?” It’s a simple question. But it has so many answers that one needs to just keep finding them. It helps because I think this work requires you to be out there, and you’re expressing something so sensitive, which is emotions. So when someone needs the right reasons, I think a person finds more courage to just express and share. So that’s my advice: meet the right people and express yourself the right way.
What’s the best and worst advice you’ve gotten till now?
My mentor told me, ‘Learn to fly with your feet on the ground.’ Worse was a ridiculous solution to a real problem that I had. Someone told me not to go and do these workshops and courses. You have to work here and the language is different. I remember going to London and doing an acting course. Thank God! I went on that journey because it changed my life. Not because of what I learnt or the people that I’d met, but because I could just break away from the same rut that I was living in.
Who has been your biggest cheerleader so far?
In my family, my mother. My mother loves me unconditionally and knows my abilities, which even I didn’t know when I came to Mumbai and got a small film. She’s always been there. She’s a ball of entertainment. She’s also that person who loves people. She loves going out there and doing all of these things. She keeps her energy, which is amazing.
Have you experienced regret?
Yeah, I wish I had opened my eyes to more. Long before I did, because I don’t know what took me so long. But I wish I had somehow known. I did my workshops and met some people who had something to offer in terms of what this work needs. But I wish I had known about all of that and explored all of it before. But then again, I just came here and went with the wind.
What’s the secret to this sense of self-belief and confidence?
I’ve never felt overconfident for some reason. I have felt under confident for a long time. But now I don’t, for some reason. I think it’s to each his own; everyone finds their calling. When you find that, you find that stability in yourself. That is when you learn to hold your hand rather than seeking others and feeling dependent on others in your journey. So I think that the balance gives us what seems like the right kind of confidence.
