2014 bodes well for the troika -Varun, Alia and Sidharth – all whom debuted with the immensely successful Student of the Year. While Varun and Alia were essentially from the industry, it was Sidharth who was the lone outsider. But that never deterred this handsome actor from chasing his dreams. If Varun and Alia had their respective parents to guide them, Sidharth found a guide, Godfather and mentor in none other than Karan Johar. And the lanky actor doesn’t shy away from lavishing praise on Karan. “I am here today only because of Karan Johar. He gave me an opportunity to act in his movie. I am grateful and also feel responsible to work well in my future films,” admits Sidharth when asked about Karan’s role in his career. For someone who never thought about becoming an actor till he landed in Mumbai, it was Karan Johar who gave wings to Sidharth’s starry dreams. But things were not easy to begin with. Sidharth too started out as a struggler and in his own words, “Mumbai is not an easy place to survive.” But as they say, fortune favours the brave; Sidharth was selected from a pool of thousand other strong aspirants to play one of the lead roles in Student of the Year. All the more reason why Sidharth today thinks that he has to prove and justify himself to Karan Johar and Dharma Productions that they didn’t make a wrong choice by investing in him. “I think Hasee Toh Phasee too, is a test for me to prove to Karan Johar that he didn’t make a wrong choice. With Student of the Year, Karan’s intention was to give three actors to the industry. And obviously, he never wanted them to fade away after doing that movie. So we have to prove it to Karan that he made the right choice. The pressure is also more because we were chosen from a pool of about thousand aspiring actors by Dharma Productions,” says Sidharth, as a matter of fact. Hasee Toh Phasee will also see Sidharth donning the mantle of a solo lead for the first time. Admitting that he is nervous, the actor says, “I am a bit nervous because this is my solo lead project and as soon as the movie releases everyone will start looking for the numbers. But at the same time, I am also eager to prove my acting mettle with this movie. While in Student of the Year, the focus was much on clothes, the way we danced and other things, this movie focuses on our acting abilities.” So what did his mentor Karan say after watching the rushes of Hasee Toh Phasee? “Well, he was happy,” says Sidharth with a shy smile lacing his handsome face. Hasee Toh Phasee is a romantic comedy and will hit cinema screens on 7 February (2014).