The flip side of stardom often involves actors being mobbed by crowds or encountering fans who try to get close without consent. Celebrities frequently face such situations. In a recent interview, Sidharth Malhotra's bodyguard Zeeshan Qureshi opened up about an uncomfortable incident involving Kiara Advani during her pregnancy.
The Incident
Zeeshan recalled that Kiara was seven months pregnant and had stepped out for a brand shoot. In an interview with Screen, he said, 'Kiara already has a bodyguard with her. But when she was seven months pregnant, Sidharth informed me that she had a brand shoot for 2-3 days and asked me to accompany and take care of her. I had to be very careful; Sidharth was afraid of sending her. So I had to take more precaution than usual.'
He added that things took an uncomfortable turn as Kiara was stepping out of her vanity van. A well-dressed man, allegedly from a team linked to Reliance Industries, approached her under the pretext of taking a selfie but attempted to get too close and tried to hug her. 'When she was getting out of the vanity van, a person came. Kiara and Isha Ambani are friends, so sometimes there's a team from Reliance as well. When that person from their team tried to approach Kiara, I got into a heated argument with him. He was wearing a suit; I thought he was a decent man,' he said.
Escalation and Resolution
Zeeshan explained that the situation escalated quickly, forcing him to step in firmly despite the individual claiming corporate credentials. He revealed that he eventually had to reach out to Akash Ambani's manager to resolve the matter. 'This happens; they try to say that we are from the corporate world, I am from here and there, how can you talk to me like that? But that's my job. I had already barricaded, put curtains, but this person was roaming inside and trying to come near again and again. I got angry, so I called Akash Ambani's manager to get this sorted out. Many fans lose control when they see actors for real.'
Secrecy of Sidharth and Kiara's Wedding
Zeeshan also spoke about how Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara managed to keep their wedding completely under wraps. Laughing about the effort involved, he said the team made several recce trips to Jaisalmer in the months leading up to the ceremony. 'We went for recce around 2-3 times in those 4 months before the wedding. We had to keep it confidential; it is a personal choice for everyone. An actor has to behave properly with everyone, no matter what mood they are in, but when a person is getting married, they wouldn't want people running behind them or causing disturbance. So all of this was planned very well in advance. It's not like they spoke on the phone to book everything and went to get married.'
He added that Sidharth personally oversaw the planning to ensure maximum privacy, while he handled on-ground security. 'Sidharth took care of every little detail himself; he planned how everything would be kept under wraps. I had to handle all the responsibility to cover it and keep everything in control. There were no fans outside, but we were surrounded by media from all sides at the Jaisalmer venue. We also had drone security. It was a huge mahal, so we didn't face any security issue as such.'
