Hiren Kotwani (BOMBAY TIMES; January 1, 2018)

Varun Dhawan is in a happy space. After enjoying a good run at the box office, the year that went by also saw him moving into his new, sprawling fourbedroom apartment, not far from his parents’ home in Juhu. All charged up to welcome 2018, the actor talks to BT about his career choices, director daddy David Dhawan, how he is gradually growing up and the movies that he is betting on in the future. Excerpts...

Last year saw some interesting, smaller films win accolades and garner good numbers at the box office, while some big-ticket projects shockingly failed to hit the bullseye. Interestingly, both your movies Badrinath Ki Dulhania (BKD) and Judwaa 2 emerged winners in a year that wasn’t considered the best for Bollywood in terms of big business...
A lot of films that released before BKD had not done well. Demonetization had happened and people weren’t going to theatres to watch movies. When it released, BKD didn’t just do well, it did very well. Shashank Khaitan (director) had worked on it for more than a year and we were all stressed. Even Alia (Bhatt) was worried that this was her only release in 2017. Eventually, the film fared better than my expectations. With Judwaa 2, we were dealing with a different pressure. GST (Goods & Services Tax) was just implemented and prior to that period, six to seven films, including big projects and much anticipated ones, had flopped. There was also the pressure of doing justice to a remake. A lot of people had doubts whether I could pull off Judwaa 2. The decisions to make these films were not taken in a day, like chalo yeh banate hain. Shashank worked on the idea for BKD for a year, likewise with Judwaa 2. My dad worked on conceptualizing and casting for eight months before we started working on the film.

In 2017, both your films were massy, commercial entertainers, but in the past, we have seen you in a film like Badlapur, which was a dark and intense subject. What kind of subjects are you drawn to?
As an actor, when I’m offered something, I get into the genre. Whatever people think of the film, I live every character that I portray. After Badlapur, I needed to take a break from an intense subject and do four-five different films. I had youngsters telling me that they wanted to see me in lighter movies. There is a different audience for Main Tera Hero, Badlapur and Badrinath Ki Dulhania. Now, I’m returning to the intense genre with Shoojit Sircar’s October. It took me nine films to earn a director like Shoojit. With him, I was ready to surrender and do a film that not many would do. Like Badlapur, October, too, is the kind of subject that is not explored in our country. At the same time, it is commercial and will appeal to everyone, irrespective of the language.

Masala movies give you a mass and pan-India reach and that is what attracts actors to do more such films. Your views?
It is essential to do mass films not for numbers, but for the reach and popularity. It’s a misconception that films which do well are masala movies. If a film does well, it’s because people have enjoyed it, irrespective of the genre. People love and enjoy movies like Golmaal Again and Judwaa 2. There are many people who believe that films that are money spinners are not good. In our industry, I feel our filmmakers have stopped making Indian films. Take Fukrey Returns for instance — its language is so Indian and hence, people enjoyed it.

Through the late 80s, 90s and 2000s, your father David Dhawan churned out hits with his Manmohan Desai-inspired masala entertainers, even though the critics snubbed him. A certain section of the audience (critics included) are fairly judgmental about this brand of cinema. Do you think your fan-following has helped his movies like Main Tera Hero and Judwaa 2 click?
I don’t understand why we judge success with the result. This is a creative field and everyone has his/her opinion. While dad is given tremendous respect by his peers, pseudo intellectuals are too critical. If you don’t like such movies, don’t see them, but don’t tell people who like it to not like it. People can make up their own mind, and no one should have the power to tell someone what to do. So many directors have faded away, but he has a good success ratio and is still making films. The problem is that a few people, who don’t like dad’s films, are telling others to not like his work. As an industry, we need to become more thick-skinned, and understand how much we should rely on people’s views on social media or any other media. If people start looking down on commercial cinema, the industry will shut down. Year 2017 was a wake-up call; you have to make entertaining films to draw people to the theatres.

Reports are rife that your dad and you are teaming up again for the remake of Biwi No. 1…
It sounds good, but it’s just a rumour. It is too early to say whether we will team up soon and what we could work on next. He is not an 18-year-old; for his health and in general, I want him to take it easy. Biwi No. 1 might seem exciting and people have been asking us about it, but honestly, there is no truth to it at the moment. Right now, I’m busy with October and another new film.

The general observation within the industry circles is that you have chalked out the smartest strategy among your contemporaries. While exploring subjects like Badlapur and October, you’re also doing the Salman Khan and Govinda kind of massy entertainers…
There’s no strategy. I choose subjects from the heart. Strategy comes after the film is made, while marketing it. After Judwaa 2, I’m doing something very different and I won’t be seen dancing shirtless. When people try to figure me out, I tell them it’s not possible, because even I can’t figure myself out. At some point, I might take a sudden turn or make a switch. I think you need to have that much guts as an actor. When I do a different film, people ask why I am taking a risk and when I do a fun film, they want me to do another fun film.

Year 2017 witnessed a big fat Bollywood wedding. Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli tied the knot far away from the limelight at an exotic location. Since you have moved out of your parents’ home, is wedding on the cards anytime soon?
Honestly, I would love to do that, but I don’t know how my parents would react to it. Being Punjabis, they would want to do it the traditional way. The next step is something every individual wants to take at some point,but right now,it’s not on the agenda. I have just I HAD moved into my new house, and I want to enjoy this part of life for a couple of years before I think of the next step. It took me a while to get here, it’s a big achievement. It’s also important to enjoy moments. I had this big change happen to me while shooting for October in Manali earlier last year. I was surrounded by nature and there weren’t too many people around, so I would often find myself just staring at the sky and relaxing. I’m not the kind of person who loves nature, but I was so overtaken by the beauty of the moment that I realised that we don’t take time to sit and think about what we want to do; we just end up being robots. Right now, I’m in this Sufi zone, if I may say so. The next 12 months will reflect the mood and the zone I am in.

All excited to kick-off 2018?
It’s going to be a testing time. For me, 2017 was a great year, box-office wise, but in the world around, there were disturbing events. Donald Trump’s election didn’t go down well with people, there were conflicts in the Middle East… after all, a war in any country affects the mood of the people across the world. I hope and pray 2018 will be a good year for all of us. Personally, bahut masti kar li, ab 2018 is the year to grow up. Who knows, I might become a kid again in 2019 Let’s see!