THE NEW GUARD

We live in the age of social media and cancel culture where one wrong move can have even the most noted names written off for good. In these seemingly frightening times, there are a few who managed to break the mould and make a name for themselves. They took on challenges and thrived in demanding environments that few could survive, to emerge in a group of personalities we'd like to label 'The New Guard'. These are the chosen few who excel in their fields or have the potential to rise even further in stature, with their innate talent and perseverance that makes them shine. As we celebrate the new year, here's HELLO!'s proverbial hat-tip to 'The New Guard', a list of promising men and women from fields as diverse as sports, art, design, business and cinema.

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'CINEMA STILL NEEDS THAT STAR POWER' - SIDHARTH MALHOTRA

FROM PLAYING AN INDIAN SPY PLANTED IN PAKISTAN IN THE 70S TO HIS FIRST OTT WEB SERIES - NOT TO MENTION SPECULATION AROUND HIS PURPORTED NUPTIALS - 2023 HOLDS MUCH PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL PROMISE FOR THIS CHARISMATIC ACTOR. IN CONVERSATION WITH HELLO!, THE 'SHERSHAAH' DECODES PATRIOTISM AND THE MYTH OF SUPERSTARDOM IN TODAY'S TECTONIC CONTENT UNIVERSE

He arrived on Planet Bollywood with all the attributes of a star. Those Punjabi roots, a hunger to make it big, the willingness to put in the hard work... Shershaah began with him meeting the family of Captain Vikram Batra, sitting hours in makeup, and getting personally invested in the story even before the director or producer were on board. For Mission Majnu, where he plays a spy trying to derail an illegal nuclear power system in Pakistan, he brought a lot more experience to the table, working with director Shantanu Bagchi, who was more accustomed to making ad films, with this being his first Hindi feature film.

"I thrive when we work in a collaborative style," shares Sidharth Malhotra. "It's a give-and-take situation and never just one-sided directives... From my level of experience, I could advise, 'Let's try this, or that may be more apt.' Perhaps I could say that I contributed in some ways."

True passion for a project often has Sidharth bouncing lines off the scriptwriter, chatting with the fight and dance masters on set, enjoying ideation, gaining insights, and mastering complicated sequences, all of which are the building blocks of memorable cinema. And sure, when you have a gorgeous co-star and lady love like Kiara Advani, some interesting parallel moments are sure to enrich the work experience. Welcome to the dream-like journey of one of Bollywood's most widely adored stars - Sidharth Malhotra.