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though largely unrecognized within the media, those fair few who have followed him from his child acting days to current status as budding musician have expressed a disliking for how far within himself it seems sik has folded. no longer the previously a gregarious and easy going youth, he does his best at pretentious overtones and sarcastic quips, leaving no room to warm up to the harsher persona of adulthood. india's cheap gossip mags continue to print dirty scandals he's somehow managed to wiggle his way into despite not being in the country. the west, however, never seems to make up its mind as to whether they see him as the innocent castaway india doesn't deserve they hold with delicate affection or the pretentious tryhard they'd rather crucify. something of a tumblr darling.
Born in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Sik is the second child and only son of Salman Srivastav, a well respected actor in Bollywood, and Mehreen Baloch, a Pakistani life coach. Much of Sik's childhood had been in the limelight and, according to Sik, had often been molded to better fit an image his father had hoped to maintain. Though his parents divorced when he was seven, Srivastav and Baloch managed to keep this secret and continued on as though nothing had happened for the sake of Srivastav's public image. This, however, took a great tole on Sik, who has often cited this time being about when he'd first started experiencing depression.
He and his mother later moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, when he was thirteen. His sister stayed in India with her father to pursue her continued passion in acting. While in Canada, Sik was able to properly treat his issues and went on to excel in all of his classes.
Living in relative anonymity, Sik attended university with the intent to study fashion and design. This was where he'd met [TBD] with whom he'd started SIK NAZTEA.
Bollywood (1995-1998, 2010)
Seemingly following in his father's footsteps, Sik started his childhood dipping his toes into Bollywood. His first role had been at the age of six in Rangeela (1995), but, undoubtedly, his most memorable performance had been as the indescribably adorable Silent Sardarji in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998). This had been his final role, however, as issues at home caused the young Sikander to fall into a depression and, worried about his mental and emotional health, both his parents let him focus on just being a kid instead.
Sik did return briefly to give the scene another chance from a new angle by stepping in as a Music Director for Shaapit (2010) for one song. In the end though he, again, decided that Bollywood wouldn't be where he settled.
SIK NAZTEA (2013-present)
Sik and [TBD] first met one another when, bored and under-stimulated, Sik took a chance on a music production course. After hitting it off, they released their first single, "Hold Tight", some time later after only one day of working together. It wasn't soon thereafter that the two of them looked to create their own music, meeting up in coffee houses, empty classrooms, and one another's dorm rooms whenever available. The true magic, however, was when Producer [Noah Shebib] signed them to [Drake]'s label after having heard their EP afterhours.
SIK NAZTEA then released their first official single on July 7, 2014, followed by their official debut EP, A Place Like This, ten days later on July 17, 2014. "I couldn't believe what was happening," Sik recalls about the time, "I didn't understand how I was able to make something of my passions so quickly. It almost didn't seem real, you know? I expected to spend my whole life struggling and probably never really making it." Continuing on their good fortune, SIK NAZTEA went onto release music videos for "A Place Like This", "Her", and "Forever".
With far more projects and another album, entitled SIK NAZTEA, in their pockets the duo announced on February 17, 2016 that they'd be making their first-ever tour in North America. Sik commented on the event, "Getting in our face time before Trump keeps us out."
Though an extremely private person, Sik has been open on all social media fronts about his struggle with depression with the hope that in making the conversation more common place it might be able to help someone else in some way. Sik has been regarded as being incredibly misleading, often coming off as hard and unwelcoming despite his efforts, though he cites his own nerves and insecurities for this.
Sik graduated early with all high marks and had been given a full ride scholarship to University for his academic achievements. It's often rumored that his IQ is within the genius spectrum, but Sik has made no comment on this. He's a vocal proponent of education being a right, not a luxury, and has expressed a desire to involve himself in the issue more fully. Until that time he's taken to frequent donations to organizations geared towards keeping the arts in schools and bringing education around the world.
He is a self-proclaimed "geek" and is a frequent fixture at conventions around the world, usually in costume.
Sik is known for being aggressively vocal about his views on the war, student debt, race issues, and feminism. It is also rumored that Sik has fake tumblr and twitter accounts used solely for the purpose of "trolling" others. Though he does plenty trolling and arguing on his certified accounts.
Admits it's rare if anyone recognizes him for his father's or sister's work and even less common if they recognize him for his own work as a child actor. "When it happens," said Sik, "I don't know what to do. I think I forget about that whole part of my life and I really don't expect the random person on the street to have watched Bollywood. If I'm at an Asian market, sure. But out on the street? It's really weird. I almost don't like it." Sik went on to say that, thankfully, on the few occasions it happens he is able to pretend it's not him and more often than not they believe him.