DNA (August 23, 2018)

Varun Dhawan, who plays a tailor based in a small village in his next film Sui Dhaaga: Made in India, dedicated three months to master the craft. “I knew that I had a difficult task at hand. I had to learn the art well enough to convince people that I am a real masterji. Darshan (the costume designer) and Noor bhai (the tailor on the sets) helped me a lot. I gave myself three months to become proficient. As an actor, I like to be challenged to become someone else on screen,” says Varun, who will share screen space with Anushka Sharma for the first time in the movie.

TIME TALES
The Yash Raj Films production, which brings together producer-director Maneesh Sharma and Sharat Katariya together after Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015), focusses on local artisans and their entrepreneurial spirit. To get into the skin of his character, Varun spent long hours learning to stitch. “Initially, it was frustrating because I wasn’t getting it right. The needle pierced my fingers many times. However, I’m glad that I went through the drill because I have picked up a new skill in the process. It took me three months, during which I would often spend two to four hours in a tailoring class to get the confidence to pull this off. It is my responsibility as an actor to be convincing in the part that I play.”

AFTER THE SHOOT
The actor recently put his newly-acquired skill to test when he stitched a shirt for his dad David Dhawan on the director's birthday. “Today, I’m very comfortable on the sewing machine and can make a lot of things like shirts, trousers, pillow covers, etc,” he smiles. Speaking about the audience’s reactions to the trailer, he avers, “It feels really good to see how people are responding to it and that they are liking my hard work as well as the character Mauji.”