Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 21, 2014)

Sidharth Malhotra’s upcoming film, Hasee Toh Phasee will be out a week before Valentine's Day and the eligible young actor will undoubtedly be a much-sought after date. “But since there’s just one me and lots of Valentines, it would better if we kept our date at the theatres!” chuckles the actor, tapping to a Punjabi wedding song that is playing in the background.

However, marriage is the last thing on his mind, insists the 28-year-old. “Thanks to Student Of The Year, I’ve landed a great opportunity to belong here and I can’t let it slip away. I don’t have anything else to fall back on,” he says.

So is it all work and no play for Sid boy, while his co-students, Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt, are painting the town red? “Maybe I’ve just been lucky or intelligent,” he quips. And we wonder about the kind of girl who can make this workaholic actor’s heart thump. “Someone without pretence and with no hidden agendas. Someone with whom I can have a conversation on the beach…and maybe some activity,” the actor says with a hint of mischief.

An ocean lover at heart, Sidharth lives in a sea-facing rented apartment and that’s one of the luxuries he indulges in. “Mumbai is an expensive city and it will take me at least three years to be able to afford a spacious bachelor pad. Buying a bungalow is still a distant dream,” sighs Sidharth, who having grown up in Delhi, is used to a lot of open spaces.

Their Punjabi upbringing and non-filmy background helped Sidharth and Parineeti Chopra bond instantly. “The chemistry is great,” he says. So, how many kisses will we get to see? “See the film and find out,” he quips.

While Alia and Varun have moved out of the Karan Johar camp, with the exception of The Villain, Sidharth is sticking to his mentor’s production house. There is a project which will be directed by Remo Dsouza and produced by Dharma that promises a lot of action on the motor racing track. But before that there will be a romantic flick again with the same production house that will roll by the end of this year. So, is he contractually bound to the company? “All three of us are Dharma talents but not bound by an exclusive contract. I’m doing The Villain with Balaji. Having launched us, Karan feels responsible and doesn’t want us to disappear in the crowd. Usually we take our own calls but if we are in trouble, I know Karan will be there for us,” he says.

It seems, this is one student who is no hurry to leave his alma matter any time soon. But quiz him on the SOTY sequel, and he points out, “I think Karan would go with new faces if a sequel is made. After a while it’ll get difficult for the three of us to pull off the student look.”