Siddharth opens up on failing to get stardom; reveals why he turned down scripts

Siddharth is known for his straightforward nature and always speaking his heart out without thinking about the consequences of his statements. He is a well-known actor in the Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi film industries.

The actor was recently seen attending the Hyderabad Literary Festival, where, along with his mother-in-law, Vidya Rao, he spoke about his film, 2023 Chithha.

During the session, he opened up about his film journey and the impact the film created on the female audience, who have always been appreciative of his roles in films, as they have always either been the boy next door, the guy who fights against his family for his love, or someone who has always been a chocolate boy with very few films portraying his character with grey shades.

In the discussion, he shared about how he missed out on his stardom as a big star. He shared that he avoided roles that showcased toxic masculinity, which may have cost him some scripts.

Siddharth shared how he rejected certain roles that could make him a big commercial film hero. He revealed how he received scripts that required him to slap women or make demeaning comments to them and how he turned them down.

He said, "I used to get scripts where I'm slapping women, doing item songs, pinching somebody's navel, telling a woman what she should do, where she should go, etc. I rejected them outright. Of course, I might be a far bigger movie star today if I were differently wired".

Siddharth went on to say how the upbringing of a person has a huge impact on their personal and professional life. He also mentioned that he followed his instincts and rejected what didn't align with his values.

He also expressed how rewarding it felt to hear people say he was respectful to women and kind to kids. He also shared some anecdotes of how some families still tell him they enjoy his films and was pleased that children could still enjoy his films from 15 years ago.

"Today, people tell me I was respectful to women, I was good to parents, I was good with kids, and I looked cute. Their kids can watch my films from 15 years ago," Siddharth said.

During the conversation, the actor also mentioned how he doesn't shy away from accepting even a side role if the script demands the female lead be the hero of the film. He proudly accepted that he is a feminist and shared that his journey felt like a personal battle. He highlighted how the industry often promoted aggressive roles, while he was comfortable showing vulnerability on and off screen.

Siddharth was last seen in the movie titled Miss You and is set to feature in the Kamal Haasan starrer Indian 3.