Meet actor, who refused Karan Johar film, was 'blacklisted' from industry; then debuted in Rs 200-crore hit, is now...

Siddhant Chaturvedi has impressed the audiences with his sincere and honest performances in the series Inside Edge and the movies Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, Gully Boy, and Gehraiyaan. Born on April 29, 1993 in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, he had moved to Mumbai with his family when he was just 5. While studying in Mithibai College, he started acting in theatre and plays. After winning a popular fresh face contest, Siddhant left his final CA exams and started giving film auditions. He had even cracked the audition for Karan Johar's production and Ayan Mukerji's directorial Brahmastra, but refused the fantasy action adventure film after his father's advice. He was even offered a three-film contract with Johar's Dharma Productions, but he refused the same too.

In a recent interview with Humans of Bombay, Siddhant shared how his father discouraged him from signing Brahmastra. He said, "They were still writing the script, and I was excited. I could have done it as well, but my father wouldn’t have let me. 'You are better than this,' he says, even till today he pushes me. I was elated that I will be getting a three-film contract with Dharma. I met Ayan, who showed me his vision of Brahmastra. I had only done a handful of ads by then, so I was a nobody. I told my father the film has Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Amitabh Bachchan and he asked me, 'Toh tujhe kaun dekhega (so, who will notice you)?' He said, ‘Nahi beta, I don’t think you should do it. Do you have the script, have you auditioned for it? If you don’t even know what you are going to do in that film, don’t sell your destiny.'"

Eventually, Siddhant made his Bollywood debut in Zoya Akhtar's Gully Boy, in which he wowed the audiences and critics with his performance as the rapper MC Sher and won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor, Zee Cine Award and Screen Award for Best Male Debut. The 2019 musical drama, based on the lives of Indian street rappers DIVINE and Naezy, went on to be a critical and commercial success. It earned Rs 140 crore net in India and grossed Rs 235 crore worldwide.

The actor added in the same interview that he was blacklisted from industry after rejecting multiple films. "The problem wasn’t that I had no offers, but I knew I only wanted to be a hero, to do leading parts. I will act, I have worked hard on my craft, but I wanted to create a big splash. I had gotten shortlisted for a lot films, which I turned down saying I don’t think this can do justice to what I think I will be. I was blacklisted, because people thought, 'Who this person is saying no?'; I refused to play side characters, because I knew my potential was a lot. I didn’t want to short-sell myself", Siddhant concluded.

The Gehraiyaan actor is now looking forward to the release of Yudhra. Directed by Ravi Udyawar, the action thriller also stars  Malavika Mohanan, Raghav Juyal, Ram Kapoor, and Raj Arjun in the leading roles. Produced by Ritesh Sidhwani & Farhan Akhtar under their banner Excel Entertainment, Yudhra releases in cinemas on September 20. 

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