‘Not all actors are known by their character names’

Ever since Varun Sharma made his acting debut in the 2013 film, Fukrey, he has earned a huge fan following, with everyone addressing him as Chucha, his character in the movie. And when five years later he played the same role in the sequel, Fukrey Returns (2017), his loyal fanbase showered more love on him. Though he did a few other films in between, of all, Chucha’s character remains everyone’s favourite. But Varun has no qualms: “I feel as if I have done something wonderful to achieve it, and left an impact on people’s life. If you look at the past few years, how many actors do you know by their character names? Or how many of them can you instantly recall? You can count on your fingertips, and then, if you are among those select people, it is great,” says Varun, who has been a part of films such as Dilwale, Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon (2015) and Raabta (2017).

The actor hopes that each time he does a film, for that particular time, people call him by the character he plays. “And it’s never bothering because that’s what I thrive on and that’s the whole driving force. I feel that to be known for and by your character is what being an actor is all about,” adds Varun, who will be playing a character called Onida Singh in his next film, Arjun Patiala.

Asked about switching between roles and how easy or difficult it is for him, Varun says that the transition takes time. He explains, “Just the way you can’t jump into a character and be that person in one day, you can’t come out of it the next moment once the shoot is over.” However, the actor, who stars in the upcoming film FryDay, adds that of course, it fades out with time. “You’ve been living a particular character for months, so it takes some time. Also, when the film releases and you see yourself playing that character onscreen, all the memories of the process, come back. So, while some actors may take a month, some take just a few days to come out of their character.”

Varun Sharma’s character, Chucha, in Fukrey is a crowd favourite even now