Indian cinema has seen a rise of alpha, hypermasculine male protagonists in recent years, with aggression and violence becoming a staple for male leads on screen. However, Siddharth believes that there is still a place and need for subtle masculinity on screen.
The actor was recently seen as the 1999 Kargil war martyr Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja, who possessed a soft demeanour, in Operation Safed Sagar, and he calls it an honour. “It's a huge privilege and I am very blessed to be chosen to play Ahuja sir. There were two reasons I said yes to this project, one was that the Air Force was behind it. They permitted it and gave us the resources to create a fitting tribute to the operation that happened 27 years ago. The second, and more important one, was that Alka (Ajay Ahuja's wife) ma'am allowed it. For me, this is as much a human story as it is a soldier's story,” he says.
Watch the full chat with the team of Operation Safed Sagar here:
Talking about the new trend and still finding place for a subtle and softer masculinity, he says, "Maine apne career mein abhi tak har film mein mard ka hi kirdaar nibhaya hai, to zaahir si baat hai ki aage bhi wahi karne wala hun. So, agar abhi tak mujhe jagah mili hai, then my kind of masculinity will always have its place. Jis din nahin hogi, us din mujhe kaam milna band ho jayega. It's about the intent, and if the creation is coming out of the right intent."
{{/usCountry}}Talking about the new trend and still finding place for a subtle and softer masculinity, he says, "Maine apne career mein abhi tak har film mein mard ka hi kirdaar nibhaya hai, to zaahir si baat hai ki aage bhi wahi karne wala hun. So, agar abhi tak mujhe jagah mili hai, then my kind of masculinity will always have its place. Jis din nahin hogi, us din mujhe kaam milna band ho jayega. It's about the intent, and if the creation is coming out of the right intent."
{{/usCountry}}However, he also defends the creative side of building such characters, as they provide diversity. Siddharth says, "Actors will play any role given to them. It's on the intent how to show it. I see it in a positive way. When you are 100% sure about something and know the outcome, maybe you can afford to be a certain kind of masculine, the 'mard ko dard nahin hota' and 'mard rote nahin’ type. Par yahaan kuch pata hi nahin hai agle second hona kya hai, so that makes our show a story of discovering oneself."
Reflecting on the masculinity shown in the series, the actor says that it is different because the story is of young boys, still learning and exploring themselves. “We talk about masculinity, but this is a story of boys. They are the youngest ever squadron to do the kind of things they did, the highest ever military operation in history, firs time at night. It's crazy. It's a coming-of-age story for me as much as it is a story of bravery, heroism and masculinity. The way the Golden Arrows are depicted, it has the beauty of boys figuring out their bearings,” he ends.