‘SALMAN WILL GET TO HEAR THE SCRIPT FIRST’

Varun Dhawan says he and his father, director David Dhawan, will meet Khan once the story of the Judwaa sequel is ready

Varun Dhawan (above right) is going to star in the sequel to Judwaa, the 1997 hit that had originally starred Salman Khan (inset). David Dhawan will direct his son for the second time with this film. Interestingly, the young actor reveals that he and his father plan to go to Salman with the script when it is ready.

“Once the script is locked, the first person who will get to hear it will be Salman bhai. Dad and I will go to him. I would like to do that out of respect for him. It will also be beneficial for me to learn about his vast experience, and the fact that he worked on the original movie,” says Varun. While his brother Rohit Dhawan and his father are Bollywood directors, he isn’t sure about going behind the camera. “Honestly, right now, I don’t know what I want to do,” he says with a smile.

BRIDGING THE GAP

With his recent films, Varun has attempted to bridge the gap between ‘classy’ and ‘mass-y’ cinema. The young actor refuses to believe that he has a particular kind of audience. “I would not like to think that way. Maybe I still need to convince some part of the audience [to watch my movies], but I would like to believe they all are my audiences,” he says.

The actor, who has experimented with films such as Badlapur (2015) and Dishoom, says he does movies “for everyone”. “So, Junaid Ansari (his character in Dishoom) is a cool, urban guy. But, if I am able to bridge the gap between the masses and the classes, and if I am able to make everyone believe that I am “their guy”, then I am sorted. I would like to create characters that both worlds feel they can be friends with,” he says.

He has delivered several successful films, but Varun feels that, at the end of the day, it’s about how much one enjoys the film-making process. “I was talking about this to a friend recently. I said, ‘You work on a movie. You are excited, and want to see the outcome. And then the movie releases. Then what? Maine ek saal kaam kiya ek picture par, aur woh ek din mein nikal jaati hain (I worked on one movie for a year, and it all comes to an end in just a day). Then, there’s another film, followed by another one, and so on. So, for me, success does not lie only in the success of the film, but also in how you feel while it’s being made and how much you enjoy each moment of that process,” says Varun.

MARKETING MAVEN

Varun markets his films with passion. The 29-year-old is known for that. “People keep asking me, ‘Why do you promote [your films] so much when other actors don’t?’ It’s because I enjoy meeting people. That’s why I do it. If I go somewhere, and so many people turn up and I get to meet them, then that’s

success for me. Picture toh aake release ho gayi, par woh karte waqt mujhe maza nahi aaya toh main khud ke liye kya kar raha hu (a film releases, but if I don’t enjoy the process before it hits the theatres, then what am I doing for myself)? I have to enjoy the process,” he says.

Varun believes that while audiences get to see “a finished product” on the screen, meeting his fans satisfies him in a different manner. “For me, nothing else is as satisfying as that. But at the same time, when I do a scene, and my director is okay with it, that’s a high for me too because the director has liked my work enough to say okay,” he says.

Of late, rumours have been rife about Varun’s next lot of projects, including one with his Badlapur director Sriram Raghavan. Ask him if the rumours are true, and Varun says, “I can’t throw any light on that right now (smiles). But, hopefully, there will be some news soon, and everyone will know about it. As for rumours, they are never true. They are only true when the actors give them out (smiles). I never spread rumours,” he says.

If I go somewhere, and so many people turn up and I get to meet them, then that’s success for me. VARUN DHAWAN, ACTOR