Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra 'romancing' off-screen didn't impact Shershaah, says director

Shershaah director Vishnuvardhan has commented on actors Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra's rumoured relationship, and whether it impacted their performances in the film

Kiara Advani, speaking about her bond with rumoured boyfriend Sidharth Malhotra, said that she could really relate with her Shershaah character's 'commitment to love'.

Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra in Shershaah.

"For me also, my reason for marriage will always be love," Kiara Advani, who plays Captain Vikram Batra's beloved Dimple Cheema in the upcoming war drama, said in an interview.

Asked about her bond with Sidharth Malhotra 'as a co-star and as a friend', she told a leading daily, "As a co-star, he's extremely driven and focused. He loves to prep a lot, and do a lot of reading. That's very similar to the way I like to work on a film. So in that sense we got along very well, with Vishnu sir and Sandeep sir, the writer. There were a lot of readings and prepping, and getting the nuances of both the people we were playing correct."

She continued, "As a friend, I'd say he's one of my closest friends in the industry. Through the film... As a friend, he's full of life, and fun to be around."

Shershaah director Vishnuvardhan told BollywoodLife that it doesn't matter to him if Kiara and Sidharth are 'romancing' off-screen. “I'll honestly tell you, that didn't even matter to me while I was filming. It is not about Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra, for me it is Captain Vikram Batra and Dimple; they were playing the characters. For me, it didn't matter – just because they're in a real-life something or whatever is happening, it's their personal life, it's not going to help me for the film. What really worked for me, if you see the trailer carefully, it's the way Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani looked, their pairing is actually fresh – that's what actually worked because they're very close to the characters. For me, it doesn't matter if it's going to help or not (the relationship angle), as a maker, I don't think that's a factor as such. Whether on screen they're playing (the characters) and off screen they're romancing, it doesn't matter to me."

Shershaah, co-produced by Karan Johar, will be released on Amazon Prime Video ahead of the Independence Day weekend.