Story of Sidharth Malhotra: From Delhi Boy Next Door to Uniformed Hero of Bollywood
Story of Sidharth Malhotra:
Middle-Class Delhi Childhood: Roots in a Punjabi Family
Sidharth Malhotra was born on 16 January 1985 in Delhi, into a close-knit
Punjabi family, far removed from the film industry. His father, Sunil Malhotra,
worked as a captain in the Merchant Navy, spending long months at sea, while
his mother, Rimma Malhotra, was a homemaker who held the fort at home. Growing
up with one elder brother in a middle-class colony, Sidharth’s life revolved
around school, cricket in the bylanes, comic books, and Bollywood films on TV never
with the assumption that one day he would be part of that distant world.
School and College: From Don Bosco to Shaheed Bhagat
Singh College
Sidharth studied at Don Bosco School in Alaknanda, South Delhi, and later at
Naval Public School, soaking in typical Delhi school life bunking classes for
canteen gossip, playing sports, and participating in occasional dramatics. He
went on to pursue a B.Com degree at Shaheed Bhagat Singh College (Delhi
University), but discovered that the standard academic route did not excite
him. It was during these college years that compliments about his height,
looks, and camera-friendliness pushed him toward an unexpected career pivot modelling.
Early Modelling Career: Ramp Walks, Magazine Covers, and
Disillusionment
At age 18, Sidharth began modelling professionally in Delhi, quickly signing
with agencies and walking for designers at fashion weeks. Within a few years,
he was fronting campaigns and featuring on covers of men’s magazines like Men’s
Health and others, earning good money for someone from a non-filmy background.
Yet, after about four years, he grew dissatisfied with the superficiality of
the fashion world and realised he wanted to be more than just a face and
physique in front of the camera. Acting, with its scope for storytelling and
emotional depth, began to replace modelling as his primary goal.
Assistant Director Phase: Learning Filmmaking Behind the
Camera
Keen to understand cinema from the inside, Sidharth moved to Mumbai and first
came on board not as an actor but as an assistant director in the film
industry. He worked as an AD on Karan Johar’s My Name Is Khan (2010),
and, as some reports note, had earlier also assisted on Dostana,
both under the Dharma Productions banner. On these sets, he learned shot
breakdowns, continuity, blocking, and the relentless discipline required to run
a film unit. Watching Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, and other stars perform
strengthened his conviction that acting was his true calling and attending
auditions became a parallel routine to his behind-the-scenes responsibilities.
Breakthrough as an Actor: ‘Student of the Year’ and
Instant Stardom
Sidharth auditioned for a film to be directed by Anubhav Sinha, which was
eventually shelved, but this setback led to a bigger opportunity: Karan Johar’s
teen drama Student of the Year (SOTY). In 2012, he made his
acting debut as Abhimanyu Singh alongside fellow newcomers Varun Dhawan and
Alia Bhatt in SOTY, which became a commercial hit and a major pop culture
moment for that generation. Sidharth’s portrayal of the earnest, ambitious
scholarship student from a modest background contrasted with Varun’s spoilt
rich-kid character, earning him a Filmfare nomination for Best Male Debut and
immediate fan following.
Early Film Career: Hit-and-Miss Experimentation
(2012–2016)
Post-SOTY, Sidharth moved through a variety of roles: the romantic lead
in Hasee Toh Phasee (2014), a darker, action-driven avatar
in Ek Villain (2014), which became a blockbuster, and the
intense soldier in Brothers (2015). Ek Villain particularly
cemented his image as a bankable, brooding hero capable of carrying a film’s
emotional and action weight. However, the period also saw mixed results at the
box office films like Baar Baar Dekho, A Gentleman,
and Baarish phase projects did not match expectations
commercially, forcing him to rethink his script choices. Nonetheless, his
performance in ensemble drama Kapoor & Sons (2016) earned
both critical appreciation and audience empathy, proving his strength in
layered, realistic roles.
Career Turning Point: ‘Shershaah’ and the Uniformed Hero
Image
The defining pivot in Sidharth’s career came with Shershaah (2021),
a biographical war film in which he portrayed Captain Vikram Batra, PVC, the
Kargil War hero. Released directly on streaming due to the pandemic, the film
drew massive viewership and emotional responses, with audiences praising his
nuanced, deeply felt performance as the brave yet playful army officer. Shershaah reshaped
his public image from “chocolate-boy outsider” to a serious actor capable of
carrying patriotic and emotionally heavy material. The movie’s music and his
chemistry with co-star Kiara Advani also became massively popular, laying both
a professional and personal bridge between them.
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Love and Wedding: Sidharth–Kiara’s Real-Life Fairytale
Sidharth and Kiara’s on-screen chemistry in Shershaah soon
gave rise to off-screen dating rumours public sightings, vacation photos, and
joint appearances kept the gossip columns busy, though both remained discreet
for long. On 6 February 2023, the couple got married in a traditional ceremony
at Suryagarh Palace, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, with close family and select
Bollywood friends in attendance. They later shared official wedding photos on
social media, confirming their relationship and winning public hearts as one of
Bollywood’s most adored young power couples. Since then, they have appeared
together in brand endorsements and public events, while continuing to maintain
relative privacy around their personal life.
Recent Films and Web Debut: ‘Mission Majnu’, ‘Yodha’ and
OTT Foray
Post-Shershaah, Sidharth continued exploring patriotic and action spaces
with films like Mission Majnu (2023) and Yodha (2024). Mission
Majnu, set against an espionage backdrop, and Yodha, a
high-octane action thriller, reinforced his positioning as a go-to face for
intense, uniformed and action-hero roles. He also entered the streaming series
space, headlining a spy-thriller web show (such as Indian Police Force under
Rohit Shetty’s banner), giving him continuous relevance in the OTT era and
expanding his fan base among binge-watchers.
Upcoming Projects: A Busy Slate Through 2025–2027
As of 2025, Sidharth’s calendar remains crowded with a mix of romance, action,
and commercial entertainers. One of the much-hyped films is Param
Sundari, a cross-cultural romance produced by Maddock Films, co-starring
Janhvi Kapoor and slated for an August 29, 2025 theatrical release. Future
projects reportedly include titles like Vvan – Force of the Forest, Rowdy
Rathore 2, and Aankhen 2, spanning folk thriller, masala
action, and heist-thriller genres, respectively. This line-up suggests a
strategy to balance massy, big-banner projects with roles that challenge him
and keep him visible across diverse audience segments.
Public Persona, Fitness and Social Media Presence
Sidharth is widely perceived as one of Bollywood’s more grounded,
low-controversy actors. Coming from a non-filmy Delhi family, he often credits
his parents for keeping him rooted despite glamour. A fitness enthusiast, he
regularly shares workout clips, martial arts training glimpses, and diet tips
on social media, presenting himself as a disciplined, all-round action-romance
hero for the current generation. On Instagram and other platforms, he
intersperses film promotions and brand endorsements with candid
behind-the-scenes photos, dog-parent moments, and occasional humour, enhancing
an image of relatability as well as stardom.
Today’s Status: An Outsider Who Carved a Mainstream Space
By late 2025, Sidharth Malhotra has firmly established himself as a
commercially viable leading man with a defined niche romantic, intense,
patriotic and action-heavy roles while still evolving as an actor. From an
18-year-old Delhi college kid modelling in catalogues, to an assistant director
fetching coffee on sets, to headlining big-ticket films and marrying a top
co-star, his journey exemplifies what persistent outsiders can achieve in
Bollywood. With a strong streaming and theatrical presence and multiple
high-profile films on the horizon, Sidharth stands at a promising mid-career
point: no longer just the new boy from Student of the Year, but an
established star still writing the most interesting chapters of his story.
