On Friendship Day, the two reveal how they’ve got each other’s backs for two decades and counting
Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; August 1, 2021)

He calls Varun ‘badarva’, and not many people know about their bond. Actors Kavish Majumdar and Varun Dhawan have been friends for over two decades. Dhawan calls Majumdar the “funniest person in the room”, and says he wants to make a show on him. On Friendship Day today, we get talking to both in an exclusive conversation:

When did the two of you meet for the first time? What’s the first memory you have of each other?
Varun: Meeting Kavish is a story in itself. He had done a play called Little Boy Blue, at Prithvi Theatre in Mumbai. I had gone to see it along with a friend. We were 12. I loved the play, and thought, ‘This guy is damn good’. We never spoke, but ended up meeting in H R College (Mumbai) in 2003.
Kavish: I met him in the corridors of college, Varun was standing alone, going through his phone. I went up to him and said, ‘Hi Varun, we had met at that time’. Then there was a Goa trip we went on with friends by train for a good 10 days. We came back and stayed in touch.

Not many know about the bond you share, we don’t see any pics on social media, too.
Varun: That’s because Kavish isn’t very fond of social media. He hates it when I put any of his stuff online, so I respect that. Otherwise, we pretty much speak every day. He’s one of my closest friends, plus he loves cinema being an actor himself.

Which of Varun’s films is your favourite?
Kavish: Student Of The Year (2012), he killed it in his first film. After that, Main Tera Hero (2014), Judwaa 2 (2017). I loved him in Coolie No 1 (2020), he’s the best at those films.
Varun: He’s saying this, but he’s the one who pushes me to do Badlapur (2015) and October (2018).

What’s that one thing about each other that no one else knows?
Varun: We can’t say it (laughs). We don’t have any secrets with each other. His favourite actor is Baba (Sanjay Dutt), so we make him enact Raghu from Vaastav, the 50-tola dialogue.
Kavish: In a party, we don’t talk as much, we start acting and dancing.

Varun got married in January. What was his bachelor’s party like?
Kavish: He was working until before the marriage, and then there was the pandemic. We couldn’t plan anything. I was just told to be free on those dates.

Who between Natasha and Kavish would you call your best friend, Varun?
Varun: (laughs) You can’t choose like that! Kavish is a person who Natasha has accepted in my life, she knows he is going to be a part of it no matter what.

How is Varun as a friend, Kavish?
Kavish: He has always been there. Sometimes, when I’m not able to call, he’s the first to call and ask, ‘Where have you been’. He’s the one who makes plans. In the pandemic, too, he looked out for me.