'ACTING CAN'T BECOME LIKE A 9-TO-5 JOB'
Varun Dhawan says that actors have a duty to experiment with different roles
Monika Rawal Kukreja
Actor Varun Dhawan brings to mind the word “dynamic” — boxoffice success, artistic excellence, trying so many different things in just the six years since his debut (Student of the Year, 2012)... he has got it all covered. As his most recent release, Sui Dhaaga – Made in India, keeps attracting both praise and cinema footfall, Varun says, “As actors, it’s our duty to do different roles, or else acting also becomes like a 9-to-5 job.” In a freewheeling chat, he talks about why he feels that it’s not a risk at his stage to experiment with roles, and the fact that audiences have evolved way more than anyone can think of.
October was out of your comfort zone and now Sui Dhaaga is yet another pathbreaking concept. What drives you to be experimental?
My fellow actors, I’d say. Seeing someone like Anushka (Sharma, his Sui Dhaaga co-star) becoming a producer at 25, doing films like NH10 (2015) and Pari, is commendable. When I started out, she was already becoming this big superstar. When you experiment at the beginning of your career, that’s not experimenting, because you don’t have a choice — you have to do what comes to you. But when a top star suddenly breaks the mould, that’s called taking a risk and experimenting. I’ve seen Anushka, Alia (Bhatt), Rajkummar (Rao) do this — that inspires me. I feel I need to change the game and do other cooler things, too.
You recently said that you’d cut your fee if you believe in a film. Is money no longer a factor?
I said if the film is of such a nature that you feel it’s not going to reach out to a wide audience, but if I still love the film, its subject and the makers, then I don’t care about the fee.
Do you act for your fans or to satisfy your creative hunger? I’m mostly acting for the audiences. But when I do films like October and Badlapur, then that’s my little thing of artistically and creatively keeping myself alive. I believe I have to put myself in a difficult position to try and do a different performance, and then when the audience supports you, it’s crazy.
Also, I feel as actors, we should actually be allowed to do whatever film we can. It’s our duty to do different roles, or else acting also becomes like a 9-to-5 job.
Do you feel then that actors are prone to getting typecast? Yeah, I don’t know who sets these roles or boxes. Yaar, aap aise dikhte ho toh aapko yeh karna chahiye, aise baat karte ho toh aapko yeh role karna chahiye, because you are safe in that. People tend to compartmentalise you. However, thankfully, that’s changing and audiences are getting way more evolved.
You promoted October while shooting for Sui Dhaaga, and promoted Sui Dhaaga while shooting for Kalank. Tiring? I’m a workaholic. I’ve been told that it’s unhealthy. But closer to a film’s release, I get very little sleep and my mind is constantly working. Surprisingly, I don’t get dark circles (laughs) .I know it’s not the healthiest of lifestyles and I won’t tell people to follow it.