Sidharth Malhotra reflects on life after father's death, says parenthood changed him

Actor Sidharth Malhotra opened up about the loss of his father and the emotional experience of balancing grief with the joys of parenthoodHe expressed how the experience changed his priorities in life Sidharth who recently appeared with wife and actress Kiara Advani on Koffee With Karan spoke about his late fatherrsquos prolonged illness and how caring for him in his final years shaped his understanding of parenthoodldquoWe were kind of prepared I think we went through a process with him His ailment and condition in particular was getting little worse year by yearrdquo Sidharth saidThe actor said his experiences with his young daughter Saraayah often remind him of the time he spent caring for his fatherldquoNow when I look back and I go and do all these interesting things with Saraya in our building in our home it reminds me that I used to take my dad in a very similar way swimming in our building because it was hydrotherapies what he needed for his conditionrdquo he saidSidharth revealed that during the last few years of his fathers life their relationship had evolved in a way that made him feel like he was parenting his own parentldquoThe last four or five years it was almost like you know my dad was like my first child Like you had started parenting himrdquo he saidThe actor revealed that his father had been diagnosed with early Parkinsons and recalled how active and physically fit he had been throughout his lifeldquoHe was diagnosed with early Parkinsons and hes been a very fit guy all through his life I was in the merchant navy so I get a lot of my outdoor activity from my father and thats what I used to love taking him to the poolrdquo Sidharth saidldquoHe used to love interacting with me we used to do counts and workouts together even at that agerdquo he said Sidharth said becoming a father himself has made those memories feel even more relatableldquoNow its surreal when I do the same thing with Saraya It almost feels like okay I have done this before and we just lost him this yearrdquo he saidWhile speaking about his mother Sidharth acknowledged the difficult period she has gone through after spending more than five decades with his father ldquoIt was obviously my mother whos been with him for 50 plus years who has had it much worse but shes a very strong womanrdquo he saidldquoI think she was there like a rock The only blessing is that all of us were togetherrdquo the actor addedSidharth also spoke about how losing a parent while raising a young child has changed his perspective on lifeldquoBut they say you lose a parent and you gain a God and the gain of God has resulted in this blessingrdquo he said ldquoI always say its the good energies of our parents in the universerdquoThe actor said the experience had also made him more conscious of the fleeting period when multiple generations of a family can be togetherldquoI recently went through it and I feel like it also reminds you that theres a very short part of your life where you have you know your kids and your parents in the same roomrdquo he saidldquoIt changes the priorities in my life Of course I am very ambitious but what I value more has changedrdquo ldquoI keep telling her Kiara as well like we have to value this phase of life where our kids arerdquo he saidFor the uninitiated Sidharth lost his father this year in FebruarySidharth and Kiara who married in February 2023 after falling in love while working together on Shershaah welcomed their daughter Saraayah in July 2025 The couple announced in October that they are expecting their second child sharing a picture featuring their daughters hand and a tiny baby sockThey captioned the announcement ldquoBlessed once again with the greatest gift of all Our hearts are so full of love and gratituderdquo