Sidharth Malhotra says Nora Fatehi’s Manike is not ‘just an item song’, calls it main track in Thank God

Actor Sidharth Malhotra has said that the song Manike, from his latest release Thank God, is the main song and not ‘just an item song’.

In a new interview, Sidharth reacted to mixed responses that the song has received. He also spoke about the film facing legal issues and added that ‘it’s not fair to watch one snippet and judge a whole film’.

Sung by the Sri Lankan singer Yohani and Jubin Nautiyal, Manike is a recreated version of 2021’s viral song Manika Mage Hithe. Last year, the Thank God team made an announcement that Yohani will be making her singing debut with the Hindi version of her hit song. The song features Sidharth and Nora Fatehi.

In an interview with News18, Sidharth said, “It’s the main song in the film. Nora (Fatehi) plays an interesting character; she doesn’t come in for the song alone. It’s very well-integrated into the story as opposed to it being just an item song. We’re happy that people are liking it.

Nora and I’ve done many songs in the past but the first time I’ve danced with her is in Manike. We did a song in Marjaavaan (Ek Toh Kum Zindagani) as well where I was just looking at her dance. At that time, I had told her that the next time we do a song, I’ll make sure that I do some moves and that’s what we did with Manike.”

Sidharth also said, “While reading a script, you’re looking at the story. I feel at times it’s not fair to watch one snippet and judge a whole film. You can’t judge a book by its cover. I’m waiting for people to actually see the whole two hours of the film and then have a discussion and dialogue on why a character is saying something. Then they can decide what we’ve done and what the tonality and our intention is. That’s the correct way to judge a film.”

Helmed by Indra Kumar, the film stars Ajay Devgn and Rakul Preet Singh in the lead roles. The film, which released in theatres on Tuesday, earned ₹8.10 crore on its opening day in India.

He had directed Bollywood movies such as Ahista Ahista, Zid, Agar, God and Gun, Police Public, Majhdhaar, Dil Akhir Dil Hai, Bulundi, Nishchaiy, Suryaa and Jhuta Sach. His last film as a director was Thoda Tum Badlo, Thoda Hum, which was released in 2004. It featured Arya Babbar and Shriya Saran in lead roles.

Actor Govinda, whose first film Love 86 was directed by Esmayeel Shroff, mourned the loss of the filmmaker. He told ETimes, “I’m deeply saddened. My career started with his film. Uparwala unko jannat naseeb karaye (may God place his soul in heaven). May his soul rest in peace. Not only did he give me work, but he used to have faith in me, too. He was the first person in my life who said that Govinda understands cinema. He played a big role in making me Govinda from Govind.”

Apart from this, Sidharth has Yodha with Disha Patani and Raashii Khanna. The film is slated to release on November 11. The action thriller is directed by Sagar Ambre. He also has Shantanu Bagchi’s spy-thriller film, Mission Majnu with Rashmika Mandanna and Rohit Shetty’s web series Indian Police Force alongside Shilpa Shetty and Vivek Oberoi.