It’s not just about acting. One has to have the ability to explore one’s potential, be open to new avenues and be prepared to rough it out even if the family is from the industry
Even with Dhawan as surname, Varun is of the opinion that coming from a filmy background, having good looks, flaunting six pack abs and wearing branded clothes doesn’t make one a successful hero in the long run even though he has all this and a lot more. But that doesn’t stop him from carving a niche for himself in the industry under the aegis of his father, David Dhawan.
To be a hero, one has to be willing to work hard. “It’s not just about acting. One has to have the ability to explore one’s potential, be open to new avenues and be prepared to rough it out even if your family is from the industry,” says Varun, who is now shooting for Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania in Chandigarh opposite Alia Bhatt.
“To make it big in Bollywood and stand out in a crowd, one has to have an extra edge. I’m lucky to have a father who is a great friend and a tough task master. Shooting with him for Main Tera Hero (MTH) and other actors like Anupama Kher, Saurabh Shukla, etc was a great learning experience. On the sets, my father was very strict with me not because he is my father but because as a director he had a lot of expectations from me. He is my true hero and I look up to him,” Varun tells you.
Interestingly, he was not expecting that his father would offer him a lead role in MTH opposite Nargis Fakhri and Ileana D’Cruz.
“I knew that the movie was being directed by my father but I didn’t think that the role would come to me even though Student Of The Year was such a blockbuster. To get such a big movie with stars like Anupam Kher felt amazing. I mean, it’s only my second film. So, it feels great,” Varun says, adding that it’s the chemistry he shared with the film’s leading ladies that will make the audience love the movie.
“I hit it off with Fakhri and Ileana from day-one. We had a blast on the sets. For example, in the Palat... song, there is an underwater shot. That really set the pace and the mood for the three of us. We played plenty of pranks on each other that day and pushed each other into the pool as well. It was great to have some fun after doing hard work,” Varun says.
However, being a part of a comedy genre was an uphill task for this 26-year-old. “Working in a David Dhawan movie known for great comic timing, isn’t just a great opportunity but a big challenge for me. The standard of comedy is very high and the scenes are demanding. In every shot you, have to hit a six. A lot of reading and improvisation has gone into this project,” says Varun, who took singing classes though no track has been sung by him. He also trained in martial arts for a few stunt sequences.