I DIDN'T WANT TO DISAPPOINT SHOOJIT: VARUN

The young actor took biking as a serious job on the sets of October as he was required to ride a bike for three hours for a scene

Varun Dhawan, who plays a hotel management student in his next film October, went through rigorous training at a hotel in Delhi before he took up the role. While, he learnt every skill required for a hospitality professional on the job as he worked at every department right from the front desk to the kitchen to housekeeping, there was another skill he was required to master — riding a bike.

A source from the set reveals, “Shoojit Sircar is known for keeping his films authentic and real. Even with October, the director asked Varun to keep his entire presence as natural as possible. The actor had spent a lot of time learning, being a hotel management student in a hotel but Varun had taken biking as a serious job on the set. The film has extensively been shot in Delhi and Varun’s character; Danish uses a bike as a means of transportion throughout the film. He was also required to ride a bike for 3 hours non-stop on the Delhi Highway in the peak of winter while shooting. While he knew the basics of how to ride a bike, Varun was very nervous as he had never ridden a bike on a highway, let alone on the roads of Delhi.”

Shoojit briefed Varun about the requirements for the shot and the actor, setting aside all his qualms, got on the bike and took off on the highway. Talking about it, Varun says, “I was riding a bike on the highway for the first time and that too at 4am. Shoojitda wanted a long journey so I was riding for a good three hours in the winter with trucks going past me. I was scared but I didn’t want to disappoint him and also didn’t want a stunt man to do the shot.”