ELLE Digital Cover Star: Siddarth - The Actor’s Cut

It’s a Sunday morning. The kind that begs for coffee, not work. And yet, as I open my laptop, there’s something different about today. Siddharth appears on my screen in a James Dean t-shirt, his smile softening the edges of a slow morning. He looks amused, curious even, perhaps wondering what it must feel like to be interviewed by someone who grew up watching ‘Boys’, ‘Rang De Basanti’, and ‘Yuva’ in the grainy blur of pirated CDs and teenage awe.

If he had any hesitation, it didn’t last. The actor was generous with his words, precise with his thoughts, and above all, someone who still talks about cinema with the wonder of a person who’s just walked onto a film set for the very first time. There’s a quiet groundedness in him. A clarity that doesn’t need to prove itself. And that sets the tone for everything that follows, part interview, part film school, part long-overdue catch-up with someone who, 25 years on, still really loves what he does.

We began the conversation talking about his last year’s release, Chithha, a film that delves into a sensitive and serious topic like child abuse. Not holding back, the actor says, “This film wasn’t offered to me. We built it. It wasn’t a role that came to me; it was a film that was made in our home, in our office. It was a 100% single-producer film. It took two years to make, and I’ll never forget it.”

The passion in his voice says it all: this one was personal. “It was scrappy, emotional, and urgent. When the film came out, it touched people in deeply personal ways. That’s why we do this, right? To move people. To make it matter.”

When you look at his filmography, he’s still fielding the same questions. “People ask me what the journey’s been like. But really, the better question is: how has more than half of my life been?” he grins. “Because that’s how long I’ve been in this world. I knew early on that this was it. And all these years later, I still love it just as much.”

Still, there were labels and expectations. “The loverboy, the chocolate boy, the poster guy for romance... it’s not that I didn’t enjoy those films, I just didn’t want that to be all I did,” he says. “So I kept choosing differently. I wanted to play with alter egos.”

That resistance led to something else - Etaki Entertainment - his production house. “Since 2012, I’ve tried to take more control. ‘Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi,’ ‘Jil Jung Juk,’ ‘Aval,’ ‘Chithha’—no two films are remotely alike. That was the point.”

One might wonder how he picks his scripts and what’s going through his mind. When asked, he starts by saying that the process isn’t easy, but it's necessary, for there’s a pattern in how he chooses projects. “Three questions. One, would I buy a ticket for this? Two, can I do something interesting with this character? And three, will I grow as a person through this process?”

Sometimes, the answer is a yes, and sometimes, it’s a hard no. “I’ve walked away from films that were considered ‘must-dos’. But, if it didn’t feel right, I passed. Maybe I’d be a different kind of star if I’d said yes. But I’ve always wanted to be this kind of star,” he states.

If you know Siddharth, you know his filmography is shaped by his mentors. His artistic compass, unsurprisingly, traces back to two names. “Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan. The former gave me my start as an assistant director 25 years ago. I wouldn’t be the filmmaker I am without that. And the latter… he shaped how I think as an actor,” he reveals.

The conversation turns to his wellness routine, and he tells us how his wife, Aditi Rao Hydari, has shaped his routine. "Adu is not just an actor, she’s a star. And also this incredibly disciplined, curious person. She’s taught me more about skincare, wellness, fashion, and life than anyone.”

He adds, remembering one such lesson. “She once told me to use coconut oil on my face. I genuinely didn’t know you could do that without making things worse. But she knows what’s good. She’s careful with what she puts in her body and how she lives. Me? I eat everything, everywhere, all the time. We’re opposites. But that’s why it works.”

In his latest release on Netflix, ‘Test', Siddharth plays a top-order test cricketer—a role that required six months of prep and more than a few shifts in muscle memory. He shares, “I’ve always been a bowler. So, pretending to be this calm, precise batsman? That took work.”

His face lights up when we talk about his 'Test' co-stars R Madhavan and Meera Jasmine. “Meera’s phenomenal. I got to watch her just be, and it was magic. And Maddy—this is technically our fourth film together. The first time, I was his AD. Then ‘Yuva’, ‘Rang De Basanti’, and now ‘Test’. We always joke that we only work on iconic stuff—so no pressure.”

As an actor, you have to be constantly putting yourself out there for fans and for the world, which often comes with unwanted trolls. But Siddharth’s not one to bother about online noise. “I don’t give it energy. I listen to the people I love. I think trolls are just people in pain, lashing out. Still, it’s scary. Especially for kids,” he notes.

He brings up ‘Adolescence,’ a series he recently watched. “The writer was trolled, even threatened. That’s how twisted it’s gotten. So yeah, you can do everything right and still get hate. That’s why you need to be anchored. Pure in your intent. Focused. Kind.”

What’s next for him? Not the usual five-year-plan answer. “I just hope the planet still exists in five years,” he says, without joking. “The way we’re treating it—it’s terrifying. I saw a video of a dog being given oxygen in the Alps. It said, ‘This is all of us in the future.’ I haven’t stopped thinking about it.”

He takes a breath. “Honestly? If five years from now I still have what I have now, my family, my partner, my pets, my work, I’ll be good. Maybe a little more peace. A little more humility. A lot more gratitude.”

ELLE India Editor: Ainee Nizami Ahmedi; Photographer: Taras Taraporevala; Styling: Team E by Eka Lakhani represented by Entourage Talents; Asst. Art Director: Alekha Chugani; Bookings Editor: Rishith Shetty; Makeup: Mansi Talwar; Hair: Kunj Sharma; Words by: Ekta Sinha; Assisted by: Fatima Baluch, Sharen Dhillion (styling); Production: Imran Khatri Productions; Artist Reputation Management: Sandhya Ramachandran; Location Courtesy: Blah!, Santacruz