Varun gets chatty
The actor speaks about doing his filmmaker-father David Dhawan’s biopic, perception of Bollywood heroes and historical movies
It is the season of biopics in Bollywood but on actor Varun Dhawan’s wishlist is only one man, his filmmaker father David Dhawan. The actor said he is scared of doing biopics but if he had to do one, he would like to chronicle the life of his father on the big screen. “If I have to do a biography on someone, it would be my dad. I think it would be about his early life, till the time he didn’t have me,” Varun actor. Biopics have proved to be a successful genre in Hindi cinema with the success of films such as Mary Kom, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Dangal and Dhoni: The Untold Story. Sanjay Dutt is the latest personality to get a film on his life. Varun said he approaches his fictional characters as if they are the stories of real people. “Whenever I am offered a biopic,
I get scared. Most of the times, I don’t want to do one. I approach even my fictional characters as biopic characters. I am playing a tailor in Sui Dhaga. It’s not based on a particular person but it’s based on my observations of common people and how they go to work.”
Stop looking at the West
Varun Dhawan says that it is high time Indians stop looking at the
West for heroes as we there are a number of legends within their own country. Varun was speaking during the launch of author Amish’s book Suheldev and The Battle of Bahraich, based on story of Raja Suheldev, a legendary but forgotten hero and an unforgettable battle which kept the Turks at bay for almost 170 years.
“It’s the time when we should celebrate our Indian heroes and not look at the West to look up to heroes. Around 20 to 25 per cent of our population is made up of tribes and castes and that’s not really been represented in books or our literature as much or in films for that matter,” Varun said.
“Amish is doing a great job by actually representing it. He is doing a better job than politicians by writing about a hero. When you read the book and when you see the landscape of how he describes the world, your imaginations just run wild,” added the Main Tera Hero actor.
A double-edged sword
The actor believes making historical films in the country is a double-edged sword as everyone is offended with everything nowadays. Asked whether actors were wary of choosing historical films, Varun said, “Unfortunately, this is a double-edged sword in our country. Certain sections become upset or they say, ‘We were not consulted before this happened’,” he said.
“I think when you do it from a good space and clean heart, 90 per cent of the times no one will be offended. But in 2018, everyone is offended with everything. Someone might see my shoe lace is open and take offence with it that I came to launch a book with my shoe laces open,” Varun added.
The actor said he would not shy away from exploring the subject if a good script comes his way. “No not really. I think if you are fearful then you can’t achieve greatness. You have to take on fear head on. That’s what Amish has been doing, 20-25 per cent of our population is tribal and different castes and it is not represented that much in our literature or films.” Historical films have always been a tricky subject for Bollywood filmmakers and most recently Sanjay Leela Bhansali faced a lot of trouble before the release of his film Padmaavat.
Varun currently has his slate full with films like Kalank, Ranbhoomi and an untitled project with Katrina Kaif.