A lot has been said about nepotism and Bollywood’s blatant endorsement of it. Many on social media believe that B-town has become a family-run business with little to no scope for outsiders. Our August cover star, Sidharth Malhotra is an exception to the rule. Ever since his SOTY days, Malhotra has bagged meaty roles and carved a niche for himself. Naturally, everyone would like to know how he does it!

If he were to write a guide to surviving in this industry as an outsider, what would the first point be?

“I’m still figuring it out! Five years is nothing in this industry. I think to keep it simple, I would just say, work on your craft. There are some wonderful actors who have come from the outside in the last few years, and they are proof of the industry being performance-based. If you connect with the audience, you’ll get cast again. Also, as Karan Johar says, dressing up always helps,” the actor told Shweta Mehta Sen of MW.

“Keep your fashion quotient up so that if you get papped, get papped correctly. Jokes apart, just work hard, that’s all,” he added.

(Header credits: Sidharth Malhotra on Instagram, shot by Rohan Shrestha)