Varun and David Dhawan got up, close and personal in an entertaining masterclass at the 49th edition of IFFI
Flexcia Dsouza (BOMBAY TIMES; November 26, 2018)

Father-son duo, David and Varun Dhawan came together for a masterclass at the on-going International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa yesterday. Looking dapper in a white tee and jacket ensemble, Varun was welcomed by a swarm of fans waiting for him at the Kala Academy. They even queued up for selfies, while the song, ‘Tera Hero Idhar Hai’ (Main Tera Hero, 2014) blarred in the background.

The young actor later began the masterclass by apologising for rescheduling the session to accommodate the shooting of Kalank. The session brought out the camaraderie Varun shares with his filmmaker father, David at home and on sets. In an hour-long chat, they spilled out secrets about each other, and entertained the packed house.

Recalling the beginning of his journey as a filmmaker, David said, “Saaransh, Naam, Love Story — I have worked with so many different filmmakers as an editor. Overall, I must have edited 65 films or more in my career. Editing helps you handle stars well. It has been a great job, which gave me the confidence to become a director as I could direct my actors accordingly. Sometimes, I could let actors do what they wanted because I knew which portions had to be snipped. This tool comes in handy even while writing the screenplay. My guru was Manmohan Desai and I have made films for him. He had once told me, ‘Chalti gaadi ka bonnet nahi kholna kabhi.’ I continued to make films that worked in my favour.”

While his father started out being an editor, Varun wanted to own a channel as a kid, host a talk show, and be a standup comedian. He told the audience, “I was obsessed with people like Jim Carrey, Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams, Govinda and Mehmood saab, who could do spot improvisations and pull off comedy instantly. I would find people like them very talented. I would also find similar people in groups of regular friends who could entertain, make others laugh. I wanted to be that person jo group ki jaan bane, sab ko hansaye…”

David admitted that his son, a reigning star, had never told him that he harboured the dream to face the camera. The director said, “He shocked me. We had thought we will get him a job in a bank. His mother was also okay with the idea. All of a sudden he became an assistant director. He didn’t tell me about that either. He had auditioned for Dhobi Ghat. I didn’t want him to start off with a film like that. I screamed at him. Eventually, Karan Johar decided to cast him in Student Of The Year. I told Varun, ‘Bas badhiya hai yeh. Kandhe pe pair rakh aur kood jaa.’ I directed him in the second film he did. Today, I don’t take any credit for my son’s success. He has been a one-man-show.”

Varun added that although he has worked in commercial films and was even launched with one, his mind always leaned to realistic cinema. He summed up, “I was into films like Black Friday and Sriram Raghavan’s films. I would have given an arm to be launched by Anurag Kashyap, but no one was taking me seriously. I didn’t even get the part in Dhobi Ghat. My father loved Badlapur, but he was worried about me when I took up the film. He wasn’t too keen that I take up that film, but today, he thinks differently.”

After the masterclass, the father-duo were spotted at a Goan speciality restaurant in Panjim. They had company in his Badlapur director Sriram Raghavan and writer Rumi Jaffery. The quartet feasted on lobster and a red snapper, before indulging in an exquisite seafood platter.