Bollywood baddie Shakti Kapoor's son Siddhanth was arrested at the Juhu rave bust along with 240 others last October. In his first indepth interview, the DJ and aspiring actor comes clean on media bias, the druggie label and the disadvantage of being a star kid.
If you were to Google Siddhanth Kapoor, you'd be dished out close to six pages of news on his arrest at the Bombay East 72 rave party in October 2008. With no good word on the guy in cyber space, it's ironic when friends and acquaintances tell you he's not your average messed-up celebrity kid. Those who've grown up with Siddhanth aka "Bully" find it tough to share gossip on him, the stuff you'd expect from the Pandora's Box of the rich and famous.
The "most chilled out guy" has the life of any other 25 year-old — gyming, kickboxing, catching movies, and meeting his group of 12 friends over dinner. When he isn't doing any of this, he works on improving his Urdu diction. "Sonam (Kapoor) is a childhood friend, so is Boney Kapoor's son, Arjun. But, that's as far as celebrity friends go. The rest are just people I went to school and college with," he shrugs.
Allergic to page 3
While growing up, his parents kept him and younger sister Shraddha away from celebrity parties. And that perhaps has something to do with his allergy for "page 3-type" socialising. It's tough to find a photograph or news piece on him, anywhere, until the rave bust happened, that is. "I stay away from all that. I haven't given interviews either."
Slouching on a couch beside giant glass panes that overlook the sea, comfortable in worn out jeans and flip-flops, he nonchalantly says, "I don't care where people come from, who their parents are, what they wear. Nothing." He holds your gaze constantly with a novel glint in his eye, without blinking much and smiling, however sporadically, with utmost genuineness, some despair and comfort, all at once. A few features (especially the eyes) and the contours of his face bear an uncanny resemblance to his father's — Bollywood's favourite bad guy. It's the sort of face, soft but craggy, that instantly speaks of having endured tough times.
"The rave bust was the hardest time in my life. It was disturbing to be singled out, to make it to the headlines, get misrepresented on TV channels and tabloids... all because I was a celebrity kid. He was just DJing at the party, a passion he's harboured for a decade. "But I happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time," he throws his hands up in the air exasperated. The media that had gone to town over the drug test, turned cold when the result was declared negative. "Nobody did a follow-up to that story," he rues.
I'll never stop DJing
Back in 1999, Siddhanth bagged his first gig at Head Quarters, better known as HQs, Colaba's favourite teen night spot. Since then, he has DJed at sundry clubs and parties. He is a proud collector of 5 Caselogics of music, and loves all forms of electronic. But, he plans to change his style a bit, and focus more on house. "But playing at parties is out of the question. I am going to stick to leading nightclubs, those that are safe to play at."
Direction helps an actor
In last two years, Siddhanth has been busy assisting South director Priyadarshan on Bhool Bhulaiya, Bhaagam Bhag and Dhol. "Direction equips you to understand the nuances of filmmaking, which are necessary for actors to know — camera angles, dialogue and discipline on set." After studying acting at the Lee Strasberg Film and Theatre Institute, New York and direction at the New York Film Academy, Siddhant is scouting for quality auditions. At the moment, he is nervously waiting to hear from Anurag Kashyap Productions on a lead role he auditioned for last week. He's clear that he will be picky about roles, the kind of stuff Saif Ali Khan did in Omkara or Abhay Deol in DevD. But for now, he's elated that his 22 year-old sister is making her debut in Leena Yadav's Teen Patti starring Big B. "I am the typical possessive older brother. But we are very close," he smiles.
Mom's the word
The family is the closest they have ever been, he admits. "We have been through a lot. But, we have stuck on." He credits this calm, collected outlook to his mother, Shivangi's (Kolhapure) daily Mahikari Japanese spiritual regime. "It purifies the mind, body and soul. Mom, Shraddha and I practise it daily. I think that's what has kept us going, kept us together."
If you were to Google Siddhanth Kapoor, you'd be dished out close to six pages of news on his arrest at the Bombay East 72 rave party in October 2008. With no good word on the guy in cyber space, it's ironic when friends and acquaintances tell you he's not your average messed-up celebrity kid. Those who've grown up with Siddhanth aka "Bully" find it tough to share gossip on him, the stuff you'd expect from the Pandora's Box of the rich and famous.
The "most chilled out guy" has the life of any other 25 year-old — gyming, kickboxing, catching movies, and meeting his group of 12 friends over dinner. When he isn't doing any of this, he works on improving his Urdu diction. "Sonam (Kapoor) is a childhood friend, so is Boney Kapoor's son, Arjun. But, that's as far as celebrity friends go. The rest are just people I went to school and college with," he shrugs.
Allergic to page 3
While growing up, his parents kept him and younger sister Shraddha away from celebrity parties. And that perhaps has something to do with his allergy for "page 3-type" socialising. It's tough to find a photograph or news piece on him, anywhere, until the rave bust happened, that is. "I stay away from all that. I haven't given interviews either."
Shakti Kapoor's Son Siddhanth
Slouching on a couch beside giant glass panes that overlook the sea, comfortable in worn out jeans and flip-flops, he nonchalantly says, "I don't care where people come from, who their parents are, what they wear. Nothing." He holds your gaze constantly with a novel glint in his eye, without blinking much and smiling, however sporadically, with utmost genuineness, some despair and comfort, all at once. A few features (especially the eyes) and the contours of his face bear an uncanny resemblance to his father's — Bollywood's favourite bad guy. It's the sort of face, soft but craggy, that instantly speaks of having endured tough times.
"The rave bust was the hardest time in my life. It was disturbing to be singled out, to make it to the headlines, get misrepresented on TV channels and tabloids... all because I was a celebrity kid. He was just DJing at the party, a passion he's harboured for a decade. "But I happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time," he throws his hands up in the air exasperated. The media that had gone to town over the drug test, turned cold when the result was declared negative. "Nobody did a follow-up to that story," he rues.
I'll never stop DJing
Back in 1999, Siddhanth bagged his first gig at Head Quarters, better known as HQs, Colaba's favourite teen night spot. Since then, he has DJed at sundry clubs and parties. He is a proud collector of 5 Caselogics of music, and loves all forms of electronic. But, he plans to change his style a bit, and focus more on house. "But playing at parties is out of the question. I am going to stick to leading nightclubs, those that are safe to play at."
Direction helps an actor
In last two years, Siddhanth has been busy assisting South director Priyadarshan on Bhool Bhulaiya, Bhaagam Bhag and Dhol. "Direction equips you to understand the nuances of filmmaking, which are necessary for actors to know — camera angles, dialogue and discipline on set." After studying acting at the Lee Strasberg Film and Theatre Institute, New York and direction at the New York Film Academy, Siddhant is scouting for quality auditions. At the moment, he is nervously waiting to hear from Anurag Kashyap Productions on a lead role he auditioned for last week. He's clear that he will be picky about roles, the kind of stuff Saif Ali Khan did in Omkara or Abhay Deol in DevD. But for now, he's elated that his 22 year-old sister is making her debut in Leena Yadav's Teen Patti starring Big B. "I am the typical possessive older brother. But we are very close," he smiles.
Mom's the word
The family is the closest they have ever been, he admits. "We have been through a lot. But, we have stuck on." He credits this calm, collected outlook to his mother, Shivangi's (Kolhapure) daily Mahikari Japanese spiritual regime. "It purifies the mind, body and soul. Mom, Shraddha and I practise it daily. I think that's what has kept us going, kept us together."
