What 2020 taught Tiger Shroff

'There are a lot of really unhappy people out there.'

"I count my blessings that this year taught me patience, it gave me time with my family, it took my training to the next level with my team and allowed me to explore singing as well," Tiger Shroff tells Subhash K Jha, as he takes a quick look at the year gone by.

How do you look back at 2020? What is your takeaway from this year?

2020 was a year of extreme sadness and loss for a lot of people, so it would not be proper to dismiss it as simply a year of learning and transformation.

For myself, I count my blessings that this year taught me patience, it gave me time with my family, it took my training to the next level with my team and allowed me to explore singing as well.

The OTT platform has changed the profile of the Hindi film audience. What is your take on cinema versus the digital platform?

I believe that there are films best suited to the digital platforms and those best suited to the big screen.

For me, absolutely nothing can replace the big screen experience.

I believe after almost a year of watching movies on a phone or laptop, the world definitely wants to get back to the cinemas.

Which are the films and performances you liked the most?

To be honest, I am not one to watch films anywhere other than in the theatres, so Baaghi 3 was the last film I watched.

But I did watch some Japanese manga animation and Korean dramas.

Irrfan, Rishi Kappor, Sushant Singh Rajput... your thoughts on their abrupt departure?

All were well loved and supremely talented actors and will be forever missed, no doubt.

Especially Rishi uncle, who would always message my dad after a film of mine released without fail, with the most amazing words of praise and encouragement.

There were some ugly run-ins on social media which you handled with aplomb.

As I always have said, everyone is entitled to their opinion.

I prefer to let my work speak.

Although I do recognise constructive criticism and try to take that into account to better myself.

What is your take on the toxicity on social media?

I guess there are a lot of really unhappy people out there for whom this is the only way they are able to vent.

What are your plans for 2021?

To work harder each day to better my craft, to be grateful for the incredible love and appreciation people find me worthy of, to be as good a human being as I possibly can and to do everything in my power to never let my fans, my team or myself down.