Don’t bring a negative aspect to being a fan, says Sidharth

Bollywood actors have always had stories to tell about crazy fans, who go to outlandish lengths to show their affection for the stars. The recent suicide threat by a fan of actor Varun Dhawan, after the actor blocked her on a social network, shows how hero worship can become dangerously thin ice.

Varun’s contemporary Sidharth Malhotra — they made their Bollywood debut together with Student of the Year (2012) — also has a huge fan following among the youth. Asked to comment on the suicide threat, he says, “Of course, it is scary. I’m sure nobody would want to wish that upon their fans; that they take such drastic steps or put their lives at risk [for us]. It is very unfortunate that they say certain things which, in a way, make you feel responsible.”

The Ittefaq actor adds, “Sometimes, [such things make] you feel that it’s not fair, because [being a fan] is a positive thing. If somebody likes someone, it is a positive thing, right? [One shouldn’t] bring in a negative aspect to it.” Sidharth says that a fan can “go to any extent to get in touch” with a star. “But you have to be sensitive and make sure that you don’t encourage such things,” he says.

The actor “felt very awkward” when he met a girl at a recent event. “She started crying on meeting me. That was very sad — you want your fans to be happy; not cry [when they meet you]. That said, crying is still acceptable, but someone saying that they’d take their life is not acceptable at all,” he says. Sidharth himself met a fan who claimed he was unwell, but it turned out that the sickness was a lie invented to meet the star. “That’s not cool,” he says.

Sidharth Malhotra says that making suicide threats to meet a star is never acceptable PHOTO: AALOK SONI