Sidharth Malhotra thinks he has a chance with a woman if he can make her smile. `But that doesn't mean ki woh phans gayi. You have to do a lot more to completely win her over,` says the 29-year-old actor whose second film opposite Parineeti Chopra hits the marquee tomorrow. In a candid chat, he talks about the pressure to establish himself in the film industry, equation with his co-star and faking injuries in school to impress girls. Excerpts:

The inside story
The film is centered on two oddballs who are not liked by anybody around them. It's like two wrongs making a right. Parineeti has a Harry Potter-inspired look and I am all goofy with floppy hair. The comedy comes from the quirkiness of the characters. The film has a back-and-forth flow, with the flashback intertwined with the present. It is not a rom-com in the typical sense. Director Vinil Mathew made a conscious effort to go unconventional.

Awesome twosome
It is important to be in a good mood to do comedy. I was lucky to have Parineeti as my co-actor. She is full of energy and easy to get along with. I have never seen her sitting low. What's better, we are both non-Mumbaikars and have a Punjabi upbringing. Probably, these factors helped us to hit it off at our first few rehearsals itself, I was comfortable around her. Thankfully, people are liking our pairing.


Feeling the heat
I have had a great debut (Student Of The Year). Obviously, there's a lot of pressure to do as good if not better than that. My upcoming film has no extravagant locations or great costumes. So, there are no distractions per se and people cannot miss my performance. This is the acid test. If I am convincing as an actor, it will be a step forward in my career.

Attention seeker
I have done a lot of crazy stuff to impress girls in my school and college days. For example, I would rub mud on my knees or elbows and tell girls that I got injured while playing. It was a great conversation starter and I could also gain their sympathy. I learnt to decide the kind of lies I should tell depending on the girl's likes and dislikes (winks).


Pampering egos
People management in this industry is very tough. They have huge egos, you need diplomacy to deal with them and survive here. It took me a while to understand that. Once the camera starts rolling, everyone is equal. But what happens before and after the shoot is something that you have to get used to. I am enjoying life in Mumbai though. It has done far more for me than my home town Delhi has. I am becoming more of a Mumbaikar now.