Besides cooking, actor discussing projects with Sriram Raghavan, Amar Kaushik, Sajid Nadiadwala, KJo; set for quiet 33rd today
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 24, 2020)

Birthdays have always been about work or celebration for Varun Dhawan, but owing to the Coronavirus pandemic, it is going to be a quiet 33rd for the actor today. Mirror has learnt that he will be spending the day with his family at his Juhu residence and will continue to extend his support to those in need. “Varun will be giving money and food to daily wage workers, making the day special for them as well,” revealed a source close to the actor, pointing out that over the last one month, he has contributed to the PM-Cares Fund and the Maharashtra State CM Relief Fund besides joining hands with the Tata Trust to supply food daily to doctors and medical staff, as also those without homes or jobs.

Meanwhile, now that he is confined to his home, like most across the country, Varun has set a routine which he follows religiously. A cup of warm water as soon as he wakes up, followed by a long workout in the in-house gym. The actor is also trying his hand at cooking. “He has learnt to make the perfect omelette,” informed the source.

Evenings are for PlayStation online with a childhood friend who lives a few buildings away. The buddies spend a couple of hours playing games. Varun loves being around his young niece, too, and is actively involved in keeping people entertained on digital platforms by shooting for a show in his house twice a week.

“He has been under a lot of stress after learning that four people he knew have tested positive. Fortunately they have all recovered and this has reaffirmed his faith in God. Like he had as a child, Varun has started praying again, once in the morning and once before going to the bed,” added the source.

The actor had a film coming up on May 1, dad David Dhawan’s 45th directorial, Coolie No 1, an official adaptation of the 1995 Govinda and Karisma Kapoor-starrer by the same name. The final print of the comic-caper is almost locked, with just some post-production work remaining. In the current scenario, however, there is a lot of uncertainty over its release.

In a couple of months, Varun was to kick off Sriram Raghavan’s biopic on 1971 war hero, Arun Khetarpal. He continues to be in constant touch with Sriram over video calls, discussing the script and understanding the nuances of his character. He is also talking to other producers and directors on what’s happening in the industry and reading two scripts a week so he can have a formidable line-up in place once normalcy resumes.

“He is discussing a probable collaboration, a comedy, with Stree director Amar Kaushik, but things are still in the nascent stage. He is also in talks with Sajid Nadiadwala and Karan Johar for other projects,” shared the source, adding that the actor has also been revisiting a lot of Hindi classics, including Vijay Anand’s Guide and Tere Mere Sapne.
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Amid rumours suggesting Varun Dhawan will announce engagement to girlfriend Natasha Dalal, David Dhawan says low-key birthday for star son
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; April 24, 2020)

When normalcy returns, Varun Dhawan may well host a glitzy bash that mentor Karan Johar would approve of. For now though, an intimate celebration is on the cards for the star who turns 33 today. The actor plans to spend the big day with dad David, mother Lali, brother Rohit and family, who stay a few floors above him in a Juhu highrise.

It was originally supposed to be a working birthday for the actor as Coolie No 1 was slated to release on May 1. "The family had considered formally announcing Varun's engagement to long-time girlfriend Natasha Dalal on the occasion. However, given the current scenario, they have decided to do it at an appropriate time," says a source.

Though tight-lipped on the subject of Varun-Natasha's engagement, filmmaker David says he is glad the family is together on the star's big day. "It will be a quiet family affair. Over the past few weeks, Varun has been with us, and has been taking care of Lali and me. He is especially concerned about me as I am diabetic," he says. Ask him about the fate of Coolie No 1, and the filmmaker says, "It's my 45th film as a director. I think people will want to watch comedy [post the crisis]. Work on the film is underway."

Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 14, 2017)

"Honeymoon couple, honeymoon couple,” 40 ladies teased in a chorus as Karuna aka Lali Dhawan cut a two-tier cake, stuffing the first piece into filmmaker-husband David’s mouth at her 60th birthday bash on Monday which kicked off at 10 pm. The birthday girl’s school, college and industry friends, including Jaya Bachchan, Sunita Kapoor, Rita Dhody, Arti Surendrenath and Pammi Bakshi turned up at a popular Bandra eatery. The party was organised by her sons, Rohit and Varun.

The boys walked in 10 minutes before midnight with their father. Soon after, they were whisked off to the dance floor by the ladies, who had by then insisted that the staff put on some retro Hindi tracks. “Varun, who has grown up around his mother’s friends, danced with his favourite aunties. Everyone made sure to plant a peck on his cheek and Varun managed to steal the spotlight from his mother for a while,” laughs a guest from the bash, adding that the 30-year-old actor, who is presently filming Judwaa 2 in Mumbai, had an early call-time the next day and snuck out at 1am. “He escorted Jaya Bachchan who was exiting at the same time, to her car,” the guest adds.

Salman Khan’s Romanian girlfriend Iulia Vantur raised eyebrows with her arrival — photographers assumed she was there to catch a solo dinner but a source reveals that she was on Lali’s guest list, and, egged on by fellow revellers, crooned to a round of applause.

Varun Dhawan's mother Lali Dhawan reveals that he has been dancing since he was three years old!
Upala KBR (DNA; November 14, 2014)

Varun as a child
His first word was ‘mamma’. Varun was a very restless child. He was so full of energy while just a baby, that I asked paeditricians how I could channel his energies. As time passed, I put him into every class possible including karate and kung-fu. He has loved dancing since he was three years old. He danced at my niece’s mehndi in Delhi when he was nine. He didn’t feel shy at all.

As a student
What other kids would take three hours to learn, he would do so in one hour. We would stand on the terrace of our apartment and run up and down in circles and ask me to let the music play in the background while he studied. He multi-tasked and would do many things while studying. When Varun was in Class 9, he became over-conscious of his abs and would keep looking in the mirror to see his abs. In Class 10, he got 87 per cent.

As a parent
I have always been a strong advocate of education and saw to it that the children never missed one day of school. But I never wanted 90 per cent marks from my children. I wanted them to learn many things — games and extra-curricular activities which included elocution, debates and public speaking classes. Varun showed little interest in acting till he was class 9 when he told us he wanted to join Sanjana Kapoor’s acting class in Prithvi. He was very good and got a certificate, too.

Unchanged
Varun is very restless and always planning what he will do in the next hour.

Always a child
I hope Varun always remains the way he is... till today he can’t hear negative about anybody. If our relatives or my friends are discussing anybody, Varun will change the topic immediately. He has been like that since childhood.

Meena Iyer (BOMBAY TIMES; January 26, 2015)