Varun
Varun Dhawan on the only reason he would do an Indian English film
Sarita A Tanwar (DNA; September 12, 2015)

Arjun Kapoor is the only mainstream male actor of his generation to have done an Indian English film. That, too, so early on in his career. Finding Fanny wasn’t commercially successful, but it was appreciated. Which is why it is surprising that the trend hasn’t caught on. There’s a huge market for English films in India. A quick glance at the collections of Hollywood films is proof enough. So why aren’t more B-Town actors doing English films?

Ask Varun Dhawan, who did a film like Badlapur, who everyone advised him against, if he would act in a Bollywood English film and he says, “I honestly don’t know that. It might alienate a certain section of the audience and I don’t know if I would do a film like that at this point. If I were to, it would have to be something really special for me. Also, there needs to be a need for English in the film, not just as a gimmick.”

*** English forays ***
Saif Ali Khan was the first A-Lister to act in an Indian English film Being Cyrus. A dark, comedy that spins around the Sethnas — a Parsi family.

Director Nagesh Kukunoor played the protagonist in his Hyderabad Blues, which was hugely appreciated

Konkona Sen Sharma worked in two films directed by mom Aparna Sen: Mr and Mrs Iyer and 15 Park Avenue. She was also part of The President is Coming directed by Kunaal Roy Kapur.

Perizaad Zorabian acted in Jogger’s Park, which got great reviews all around

Rahul Bose in English August

MORE? HERE’S WHY NOT!
When asked why more English language films don’t get made in Bollywood, trade analyst Komal Nahta, shares, “After Being Cyrus and Finding Fanny other English films haven’t been attempted because these films work to a limited extent only at the box office. Karan Johar had attempted one, We Are Family, which was half English and half Hindi but even with big stars like Kajol, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal, it didn’t do well. Producers put in so much money into making English films but the returns are not up to expectations. Finding Fanny had a big star like Deepika Padukone, a studio like Fox backing it and great promotions but even then it didn’t rake in the money. All multiplexes show these films but with collections ranging from 15-20%, producers feel it’s not worth their while. The market is very limited for English films. They will make some money in big cities like Mumbai, Pune, Delhi but what about other centers like Akola, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Raigad where they don’t register collections? The smaller centers rake in big money.”

ENGLISH, But not B-Town films
Tabu has acted in Mira Nair’s The Namesake and Randeep Hooda in the same director’s Monsoon Wedding. But these English films cannot be called Bollywood films, they were not purely intended for this market.