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."

MUMBAI MIRROR (April 27, 2019)

On Friday, David Dhawan put reports of a November wedding for son Varun Dhawan and his steady date, Natasha Dalal, to rest. While talking to mensxp.com, the veteran filmmaker stated that the wedding “will happen next year maybe. I am very happy with their relationship. What more does a father need?”

While on the subject of his younger son, David also revealed that the family celebrated Varun’s 32nd birthday on April 24 by cutting a cake, even though the actor was in Thailand on a boys’ trip for the big day. “We were on the phone and Facebook with him. We cut a cake here and my granddaughter Nyra (elder son Rohit Dhawan’s daughter with wife Jahnvi), who is not even one, joined us. We managed to celebrate his birthday,” David added.

Actor will celebrate the occasion with camping, combat sport and sampling local cuisine in Thailand
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 22, 2019)

Varun Dhawan is in vacation mode. For his 32 nd birthday on April 24, the actor has rounded up his school friends and on Sunday night, the band of boys flew to Thailand to bring in the day with a tropical holiday. During the week-long trip, Varun and his friends plan to pick up some skills besides indulging in some R&R.

A source close to the actor informs that the group’s itinerary involves camping across the Southeast Asian country and attending Muay Thai (a combat sport that uses techniques like stand-up striking and clinching) training sessions.

“Varun, who is a sports enthusiast, wanted to do something different for his birthday this time and settled on learning the Thai sport, which is also known as the ‘art of eight limbs’ as it is characterised by the combined use of fists, elbows, knees, and shins. The party will also explore beaches and the local cuisine,” the source revealed.

After the trip, the birthday boy is scheduled to dive back into work with Remo D’souza’s upcoming musical Street Dancer 3D in Mumbai, which also features Shraddha Kapoor, Prabhudheva and Nora Fatehi. A major chunk of the film was wrapped up in London recently after a 40-day marathon schedule, during which the team had also shot atop the dome-shaped O2 arena in the Queen’s City.

Last year, it had been a working birthday for the actor, who was on the sets of his then-under production period-drama with frequent costar Alia Bhatt, among others. But the film’s team made up by treating him to several cakes, including a ‘healthy’ one. After pack-up, he had headed home to a series of bouquets and presents and topped off the night with a quiet celebration with his close friends.

In July this year, Varun is slated to reunite with filmmaker father David Dhawan for a remake of the latter’s past directorial, Coolie No 1, with Sara Ali Khan as his leading lady. In an earlier interview to Mirror, the birthday boy had confided that after a string of intense dramas like October, Sui Dhaaga, he is “dying to do a comedy again.” “This one has a lot of dance. With dad, it’s going to be exactly the way it was during Main Tera Hero and Judwaa 2. He will kick my ass on the set but I plan to start learning my dialogue right away as the journey ahead will be challenging,” he had added. 

Harshada Rege (DNA; April 5, 2019)

Varun Dhawan has had an enviable track record at the box office. The Gen-Y star has proved his might at the ticket windows and has also championed cinema that doesn’t fall in the run-of-the-mill category. His two professional associations with his father — Main Tera Hero (2014) and Judwaa 2 (2017) – and one with brother Rohit — Dishoom (2016), proved that the trio knew the pulse of the audience. They decided to adapt Coolie No 1 (1995) as the first production under their home banner. And on April 24, which is Varun’s birthday, apparently, the first poster of the movie will be unveiled.

Says a source, “The shoot has already taken place and Varun’s birthday seemed liked a great occasion to show the audience what’s in store for them.” In the interim, the October actor is busy promoting Kalank, the epic saga that sees him sharing screen space with his Student Of The Year and Dulhania series co-star Alia Bhatt.

NEW JODI TO WATCH OUT FOR
While Alia and Varun have made a great pair on screen, the latter will be seen opposite Sara Ali Khan in the Coolie No 1 adaptation. The source adds, “Both, Varun and Sara, have a huge fan following. They are talented actors and this would be a jodi that the audience will want to see in a film.” While the Badlapur actor will play the part that was essayed by Govinda in the original, the Simmba actress will step into Karisma Kapoor’s shoes.

As actor shot for the introductory song in his next and is set for a working b’day
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 23, 2018)

Varun Dhawan, who kicked off the shoot of his next, Abhishek Varman’s period drama Kalank, last week, started off with his introductory song. The actor reunited with his ABCD 2 director Remo D’souza, who choreographed the lavishly-mounted track with 500 backup dancers grooving with Varun, as they shot on a set in Mumbai designed by Amrita Mahal. Pritam has composed the track, but since the singers are yet to be finalised, the team shot on a scratch version over four nights.

A source from the sets reveals that the song also has Kiara Advani in a special appearance. “Varun began his rehearsals with Remo’s team four days before shoot and Kiara joined him on the last two days. In between shots, the actor would catch up on his workouts in a gym specially built on set,” informed the source.

Alia Bhatt who is paired opposite Varun is expected to join the shoot today. This will be Varun and Alia’s fourth film together after they made a sparkling debut with Karan Johar’s Student of the Year, followed by Shashank Khaitan’s Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania and Badrinath Ki Dulhania.

The Sajid Nadiadwala, Fox Star Studios and KJo production is set in the 1940s, reportedly against the backdrop of the Partition. It also features Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit who stepped in for Sridevi after the latter’s untimely demise, Aditya Roy Kapur and Sonakshi Sinha. It will hit the screens on April 19, 2019.

Varun turns 31 on Tuesday and will have a working birthday. A celebration on the set is expected, arranged by his co-actors and the crew, as he gears up to shoot through the night.

BOMBAY TIMES (April 24, 2017)

Well, we are talking about David Dhawan's twin boys on screen - Raja and Prem. David Dhawan has directed his son Varun earlier in Main Tera Hero, but working with him in Judwaa 2 is proving to be doubly special for the filmmaker. That's because the actor is seen playing a double role in this comic caper. And everyone is in a celebratory mood on the sets of the film in London, especially because today is Varun's birthday. BT laid hands on this exclusive photograph, in which papa David is posing with his reel sons while shooting for the film.

Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 25, 2016)

Sneha Mahadevan (DNA; April 24, 2015)


Varun, who celebrates his birthday today, has special plans. Though it will be a working birthday, he is happy to be doing what he loves best. “Usually I meet my school and college friends. This time, I think it’s more special because we are going to Vasai to show our trailer to the audience there. Our film is a story of a dance group based in Vasai so we want to show it to them. Also, may be at night, some friends will come over and we may go out for dinner, but it’s usually a very chilled out affair. I don’t remember the last time I threw a huge bash. There is too much work in any case to plan an elaborate bash,” he explains.

Varun shares his birth date with the Master Blaster. “It’s a great honour for me to share my birth date with Sachin Tendulkar. Cricket is a huge part of my life and I regularly play the sport. It’s an amazing thing to be born on the same date as the Master Blaster,” he concludes.

Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 24, 2014)

Last night, Varun Dhawan was in high spirits. David Dhawan’s younger son brought in his 27th birthday dancing away with Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Arjun Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapur at his Juhu residence. Aditya's love interest Shraddha Kapoor had also been invited. The party began around 11 pm. As the hours passed, the celebrations grew more boisterous.

A source told Mirror, “Varun had no plans to host a birthday bash. But on Tuesday, a couple of his school friends suggested that they should get together at his house and he immediately agreed.” Added the source, “Varun and his elder brother Rohit made all the arrangements. They put together an assortment of cusines. It wasn’t easy but Varun managed to pull this off while shooting for Karan Johar’s Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania.” 

Of late, Varun has been in a happy space. A few days back , at a party organised to celebrate the success of Main Tera Hero at Ekta Kapoor’s bungalow, Varun, Arjun Kapoor and Rohit had thrown caution to the wind and taken off their shirts to groove to hit Bollywood numbers.