‘Thank God’ not a ‘leave-your-brains-home’ kind of comedy: Sidharth Malhotra
NEW DELHI: “Thank God” is a wholesome entertainer with an underlying social message, says actor Sidharth Malhotra, who believes the film has its heart and head in the right place.
The family comedy, which was released in theatres on Tuesday, is directed by Indra Kumar, known for films such as “Ishq” and “Dhamaal” film franchise.
“It is not a leave-your-brains-home kind of comedy. The film has got his heart and head in the right place. It’s trying to say something by the end of it. It talks about Karma, your relationships, life, and work.
“It’s something that makes you conscious and makes you think about things in a funny way. So, I was happy that I got a script like this with a director who’s extremely experienced in the genre,” Malhotra told PTI in an interview.
The 37-year-old actor, who received critical acclaim for playing Kargil War hero Captain Vikram Batra in the 2021 war drama “Shershaah”, said working on a comedy like “Thank God” was a “refreshing” change for him.
“Action is difficult and any film comes with its own set of challenges. I feel comedy is equally difficult to do. I’ve always tried to keep my genres different. I don’t know how long I can sustain that. But ‘Thank God’ came as a refreshing change, because of the entertainment factor in it,” he added.
“Thank God” is also the first out-and-out comedy for the actor, which was another reason for him to board the project.
“I have never done a proper comedy. ‘Hasee Toh Phasee’ and ‘A Gentleman’, all had light comedy but they were not out-and-out commercial comedies like ‘Thank God’,” said the Delhi-born actor.
“Thank God” features Malhotra as a self-centered man who after an accident, finds himself in ‘Yamlok’ where Chitragupta, played by Ajay Devgn, offers him another chance at life if he agrees to play a game.
It’s not the first time the actor is playing a man who revisits his life decisions. In the 2016 movie “Baar Baar Dekho”, Malhotra essayed the role of a mathematics professor who gets a chance at redemption through time travel.
Asked about the parallels between the films, the actor said while the intent behind the two movies is similar, they are two different stories.
“Maybe the intent is similar but it’s a completely different film. But yes, both the films have an intent to reflect on life and what you’re doing at present,” he said.
Malhotra also said he learnt a lot from Devgn.
“He’s a great actor you could feed off, who has that presence and depth to say those hard-hitting things. You need to react to actors on set and you need somebody who has that stature,” he added.
Malhotra said he was also impressed by the senior actor’s “technical knowledge and focus”. In his over three-decade film career, Devgn has also directed movies such as “Shivaay” and “Runway 34”.
“I wasn’t aware that his passion for shot taking was so much that he would want, even a film like ‘Thank God’, to look a certain way. He’s so passionate that during one scene, they were explaining one close-up. The DOP (director of photography) took a while to get it.
“Then he said, ‘I’ll take it’. It was my close-up and I found it extremely sweet of him to show his passion for the film and cinema by personally taking my close-up. He’s the first star who’s done it,” the actor said.
Also starring Rakul Preet Singh, “Thank God” is produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Ashok Thakeria, Sunir Kheterpal, Deepak Mukut, Anand Pandit and Markand Adhikari. It is co-produced by Yash Shah. (PTI)
