Exclusive | SPY actor Nikhil Siddhartha on his political ideology, being called a 'propaganda star' and more

As much as Nikhil Siddhartha's recent films have brought him success, a share of his critics has also hurled brickbats at him. The actor has been accused by a few of pandering to and endorsing Hindutva nationalism and his more recent body of work, which essentially begins with the 2022 runaway hit Karthikeya 2 and includes upcoming releases like SPY, India House and Swayambhu, has been pulled up as a case in point. 

While Nikhil himself has alluded to no such allegiances publicly, scattered voices have sprung up every now and then to term and allege him as a 'propaganda star'. OTTplay caught up with the actor ahead of the release of SPY to pick his mind about these accusations and also learn from him, first-hand, about his stance on matters related to ideology. When quizzed about the choice of subjects and whether, or not, do they inadvertently promote a belief system, Nikhil Siddhartha said,

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"People have already decided what the story of my next two movies, India House and Swayambhu, are going to be. They do not know what they are going to be. And I am quite apolitical, I do not have any political affiliations. I do not belong to any political party and neither does this film [SPY] - we didn't get money from certain sources who said "Come on, do this, do that". At the same time, Karthikeya 2 was enjoyed by all walks of society. I saw a lot of Muslim families coming along, watching and enjoying it. Many people from different walks of life, maybe even the church, would come up and say "What a great movie, we really enjoyed the entire film". So, watch a film as a film and do not politicize it. But there are certain people who just want to divide. I try to bring people together with my films and my only aim, being an Indian and a responsible citizen, is to get the right and left closer because they are becoming too extreme. And I get abused sometimes by both sides but I will take it because I make movies with honesty, without any agenda."

You can watch the full-length video interview with OTTplay here:

But, in his opinion, is it safe or wise for an actor to reveal their ideology or political identity? If he were to speak not just for himself but all other actors, what would he say?

"I don't have any particular ideology but making the other side evil to serve your purposes is bad. I never do that in my movies. If you have seen, (in Karthikeya 2) we have only spoken about Lord Shri Krishna and nothing else. If we are talking about Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, we are not degrading anybody else - so, saying that when you appreciate a certain person, you are degrading the other person is wrong. But there are movies that do this and degrade people directly - those, I think, are the ones we should be bothered about. But I am not on that path, I am on a path of neutrality, trying to put the facts out and let people make the decision in a very, very neutral way," he quips before signing off.