Director Siddharth P Malhotra On The Reality Of Bollywood, Struggles Of Making Hichki, Legendary Grandfather Prem Nath And More (Exclusive)

Director Siddharth P. Malhotra was born into a filmi family – he is the grandson of Prem Nath Malhotra and Beena Rai, and son of Prem Kishan. But early on, he learnt that a legacy doesn’t guarantee a shortcut to success.

At 16, he started assisting on TV serials, doing odd jobs – from setting up vanity vans to distributing food, even working on music cassettes and learning how to work a VCR. With a foundation in theatre, television became his learning ground: writing, directing, producing daily soaps – starting by working on the sets of Parampara and Dekh Bhai Dekh. He went on to create 40 television shows, some of the most famous ones being Sanjeevani and Dill Mill Gayye, becoming a name in the TV space to be reckoned with.

But he always dreamt of the big screen. And in 2010, made his debut with We Are Family. It was a big-ticket start, starring Kajol, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Arjun Rampal, but the journey that followed wasn’t easy.

After We Are Family, he faced 7 years of professional struggle – his ideas weren’t selling.

That’s when he turned inward, began journaling, writing honestly about what moved him, and then Hichki was born.

Karan Johar, Hichki and a dark phase

“When you are with Dharma, everybody wants you. And it’s not because of you, they want you for Karan Johar. Because then eventually when you go out by yourself, even if you are from a very privileged family, people might pick your call, but they will not work with you. They will only work with you if you’re giving hits.”

Hichki was shot in only 28 days. From 2011–2017, I was continuously pitching the idea. I don't want to take the names, but I approached literally every hero from the top to the bottom for it. It reached a point where I wanted to end it all – I'm not going beyond that – but that’s as dark as it gets. My wife gave me the idea to go to Aditya Chopra with the idea, but I thought, why would he entertain me?

‘Being born into a film family is both a blessing and a burden’

With my wife Sapna, I founded Alchemy Films, a space to tell meaningful stories. Being born into a film family is both a blessing and a burden. You get access, but not necessarily respect. That you have to earn, and I’ve spent my life trying to do just that. There was no red carpet laid out for me. Those early years taught me humility. No job was too small. If the set needed sweeping, I’d do it. If an actor forgot lines, I’d prompt.

Legendary grandfather Prem Nath

“At one point of time, for around 10 years, he went into spirituality. He went to Kedarnath and other places. My grandmother was, in a way, supporting him at that point of time, and she was taking care of the two kids. Then when he came back, he came back as a character actor – with Johnny Mera Naam. At that time, he was the most highly paid character actor. I was only 13 when he died, but his memories are still fresh in my mind. But there are so many questions I would have wanted to ask a legend like him because he was very learned. He knew 108 raags, he would play music, could speak politics – my grandfather was a very well-read and learned man. So if he was alive, the amount of conversations I would have had today about everything would have been invaluable. But I have learned so much through people about him – you know, about his greatness, about his wildness, about his craziness, and about his spirituality. He even swam the Mansarovar once!”

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