Varun Dhawan
Varun Dhawan got the debut that most
people can only dream of – a youth film made by Karan Johar that also
worked big time at the box office. Getting noticed was never going to be
a problem for him as he has the lineage and the looks. But the real
challenge starts now, with his second film, Main Tera Hero
which hit the theatres last week. That the movie is directed by his dad
David Dhawan – the king of no-brainer entertainers – only adds to the
pressure! Interestingly Varun is actually taking the offbeat path by
acting in a masala movie. While his contemporaries are making news by
signing up for experimental, unusual scripts, Varun is working in a film
that requires him to be the true blue Hindi film hero – bash up the
baddies, sing songs and woo the girls (here he has two of them, Nargis
Fakhri and Ileana D’cruz for company!). So how is he negotiating the
tough path of Bollywood? Over to Varun who talks about movies, MBA
dreams and of course, the ladies in his life currently.
Tell us something about Main Tera Hero.
Main Tera Hero is a crazy script that I wanted to attempt. I play Sreenath Prasad; who is called Seenu by his friends and well-wishers. He is so unique and crazy that I don’t think anyone would have offered me such a character to play. Frankly, no one writes such characters now. You meet people like him but you don’t really find out what their lives are all about until you are associated with them. You can see what actually happens, in the film.
Are there any similarities between Sheenath Prasad and you?
Quite a bit actually…(laughs). I think perhaps five years ago I would have been very similar to Seenu. Today I have become more serious than before. I probably have become a little boring! Sheenu is always up to something or the other, he plans something crazy and fun all the time.
Did your dad ask you to do this film or were you keen to work with him?
Actually the film was offered to me by Ekta Kapoor who produced this film. Once I read the script and heard the dialogues, I got a full narration. I always wanted to work with my father, as I am a huge fan of the comedies he makes. It is a complete family film made by David Dhawan with a very young star cast – Nargis, Ileana, Arunoday and I. It is meant for families and the youth.
Did he write the script keeping you in mind or was a bound script given to you?
No it was not a bound script, but it was definitely written for a younger actor, someone in the age group of 24 or 25 years. He found that I was apt for the role and it was very exciting. At the moment, I don’t think there are many actors who will accept such scripts or do a masala film like this one.
Main Tera Hero is your first film with your dad. Is there any memory of it that you would like to treasure throughout your life?
I have never been as disciplined as I have in this film; it has been a tremendous experience. I am very fortunate to have worked someone as experienced as my father. We had a disciplined routine; go to sleep by 9.30 or 10pm and wake up at 5am. The shoot would begin at about 7.30am until 4 or 5pm or until the sunlight was good. Reading your script, reaching the sets very early, rehearsing your scenes and ending your day early... it was quite amazing. Most people feel doing a comedy is all about fun and games but that’s not how it happens.
If there is something you would like to change in the film what would it be?
Nothing much actually but I feel my character is a bit of a harami type (laughs)! These days films are more realistic in their portrayal and have to be a bit careful of what we show. Of course we have censors in our country and there are laws as well but we don’t want to influence kids in the wrong way. So I see Seenu as not exactly a bad guy but he is quite naughty. He is almost like a child.
Can you tell us more about your working relationship with...
David Dhawan: It was a very pleasant working relationship. He is a really difficult taskmaster and he always expects the best from all his actors. Actors like Saurabh Shukla and Anupam Kher were great to work with as well. Rajpal Yadav has great comic timing. I learnt so much from them while on set and even off set.
I remember one day I went to dinner with Manoj Pahwa, Saurabh Shukla and Anupam Kher and had the best time of my life. As an upcoming actor, it was riveting to hear the incidents they spoke about. Where comedy is concerned, my father has always set the bar really high. He pushes the actors a lot and he knows how to get work out of them.
Ileana D’Cruz: Ileana is someone who I have a lot of respect for as a professional and an actor. She is a very sweet girl. We got on really well during the shooting and off the sets too.
Nargis Fakhri: Nargis is crazy and that’s why I love her so much. She is a lot of fun to be with and she is like a boy. She is cute too!
Ekta Kapoor: I didn’t know Ekta Kapoor so well before we started this film. But as the shoot progressed, we got much closer. She is a tremendous producer. Her sight and foresight for the film is superb. She has given her all to the film as a producer. It is amazing to have so much encouragement and so much belief from a person who has achieved so much already. I have a lot of respect for her because being a woman in a male-dominated industry, she has made it so big.
You have a degree in Business Management from Nottingham Trent University, UK. How would you make use of this knowledge perhaps at a later stage?
That’s a good question. There are lots of things I want to do and accomplish; be it in the field of production or business. It is too early to even think about them right now because I have my hands full with acting and the entertainment part of the industry. Being an actor, I have not been able to think of those things yet. But sooner or later I feel I will do a lot more. I am already writing them down in my computer! You will certainly see me doing something in future.
Would your brother Rohit Dhawan and you be interested to work together in a film?
I would definitely be interested to work with him in his film. I hope he would be (laughs) as well, but having said that, Rohit is very, very picky. He chooses his actors according to his script only. If I fit the script then maybe he would offer it to me and if I don’t, he would approach another actor. And that’s the way it should be.
Tell us something about your next film Humpty Sharma ki Dulhania.
I am shooting for Humpty Sharma ki Dulhania in Chandigarh in Punjab. It has a lovely theme and I am having a great time shooting for the film. It is essentially a love story with lots of comic elements to it but the love element is so strong and so romantic that we almost want people to be able to identify with it and feel that, ‘yeh hamare saath bhi hua tha, pyaar mein aisa bhi hota hai’. So it is one of those things, a very deep rooted love story.
Are you dating anyone?
I have realised that speaking anything about your personal life, whether it is denying or accepting works agai nst you in some way or the other. I just want people to see Seenu and not Varun Dhawan, so Seenu is dating one person in Main Tera Hero!
Tell us something about Main Tera Hero.
Main Tera Hero is a crazy script that I wanted to attempt. I play Sreenath Prasad; who is called Seenu by his friends and well-wishers. He is so unique and crazy that I don’t think anyone would have offered me such a character to play. Frankly, no one writes such characters now. You meet people like him but you don’t really find out what their lives are all about until you are associated with them. You can see what actually happens, in the film.
Are there any similarities between Sheenath Prasad and you?
Quite a bit actually…(laughs). I think perhaps five years ago I would have been very similar to Seenu. Today I have become more serious than before. I probably have become a little boring! Sheenu is always up to something or the other, he plans something crazy and fun all the time.
Did your dad ask you to do this film or were you keen to work with him?
Actually the film was offered to me by Ekta Kapoor who produced this film. Once I read the script and heard the dialogues, I got a full narration. I always wanted to work with my father, as I am a huge fan of the comedies he makes. It is a complete family film made by David Dhawan with a very young star cast – Nargis, Ileana, Arunoday and I. It is meant for families and the youth.
Did he write the script keeping you in mind or was a bound script given to you?
No it was not a bound script, but it was definitely written for a younger actor, someone in the age group of 24 or 25 years. He found that I was apt for the role and it was very exciting. At the moment, I don’t think there are many actors who will accept such scripts or do a masala film like this one.
Main Tera Hero is your first film with your dad. Is there any memory of it that you would like to treasure throughout your life?
I have never been as disciplined as I have in this film; it has been a tremendous experience. I am very fortunate to have worked someone as experienced as my father. We had a disciplined routine; go to sleep by 9.30 or 10pm and wake up at 5am. The shoot would begin at about 7.30am until 4 or 5pm or until the sunlight was good. Reading your script, reaching the sets very early, rehearsing your scenes and ending your day early... it was quite amazing. Most people feel doing a comedy is all about fun and games but that’s not how it happens.
If there is something you would like to change in the film what would it be?
Nothing much actually but I feel my character is a bit of a harami type (laughs)! These days films are more realistic in their portrayal and have to be a bit careful of what we show. Of course we have censors in our country and there are laws as well but we don’t want to influence kids in the wrong way. So I see Seenu as not exactly a bad guy but he is quite naughty. He is almost like a child.
Can you tell us more about your working relationship with...
David Dhawan: It was a very pleasant working relationship. He is a really difficult taskmaster and he always expects the best from all his actors. Actors like Saurabh Shukla and Anupam Kher were great to work with as well. Rajpal Yadav has great comic timing. I learnt so much from them while on set and even off set.
I remember one day I went to dinner with Manoj Pahwa, Saurabh Shukla and Anupam Kher and had the best time of my life. As an upcoming actor, it was riveting to hear the incidents they spoke about. Where comedy is concerned, my father has always set the bar really high. He pushes the actors a lot and he knows how to get work out of them.
Ileana D’Cruz: Ileana is someone who I have a lot of respect for as a professional and an actor. She is a very sweet girl. We got on really well during the shooting and off the sets too.
Nargis Fakhri: Nargis is crazy and that’s why I love her so much. She is a lot of fun to be with and she is like a boy. She is cute too!
Ekta Kapoor: I didn’t know Ekta Kapoor so well before we started this film. But as the shoot progressed, we got much closer. She is a tremendous producer. Her sight and foresight for the film is superb. She has given her all to the film as a producer. It is amazing to have so much encouragement and so much belief from a person who has achieved so much already. I have a lot of respect for her because being a woman in a male-dominated industry, she has made it so big.
You have a degree in Business Management from Nottingham Trent University, UK. How would you make use of this knowledge perhaps at a later stage?
That’s a good question. There are lots of things I want to do and accomplish; be it in the field of production or business. It is too early to even think about them right now because I have my hands full with acting and the entertainment part of the industry. Being an actor, I have not been able to think of those things yet. But sooner or later I feel I will do a lot more. I am already writing them down in my computer! You will certainly see me doing something in future.
Would your brother Rohit Dhawan and you be interested to work together in a film?
I would definitely be interested to work with him in his film. I hope he would be (laughs) as well, but having said that, Rohit is very, very picky. He chooses his actors according to his script only. If I fit the script then maybe he would offer it to me and if I don’t, he would approach another actor. And that’s the way it should be.
Tell us something about your next film Humpty Sharma ki Dulhania.
I am shooting for Humpty Sharma ki Dulhania in Chandigarh in Punjab. It has a lovely theme and I am having a great time shooting for the film. It is essentially a love story with lots of comic elements to it but the love element is so strong and so romantic that we almost want people to be able to identify with it and feel that, ‘yeh hamare saath bhi hua tha, pyaar mein aisa bhi hota hai’. So it is one of those things, a very deep rooted love story.
Are you dating anyone?
I have realised that speaking anything about your personal life, whether it is denying or accepting works agai nst you in some way or the other. I just want people to see Seenu and not Varun Dhawan, so Seenu is dating one person in Main Tera Hero!
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