I do things when people say I can’t do that: Varun on breaking stereotypes with his films

By Vandana Srivastawa

on September 10, 2018

Varun Dhawan in a short span of time has proved himself to be the youngest superstar in Bollywood. Almost all his films have gone on to become commercial hits, and he has surprised everyone with the different roles and genres of films. His range as an actor has considerably improved with every film’s release. In a recent interview with a leading daily, Varun spoke about the ten films that he did, including the fact that he never worked with the top three directors of the country and went on to do things that people said he will never be able to pull off. He compared himself with a wounded tiger and spoke about breaking stereotypes.

During the interview, he was asked that in Badlapur he was a pleasant surprise, and with every film of his no matter what the genre, one gets the feeling that Varun is up for a challenge. Replying to this the actor said, “This is so in tune with Sui Dhaaga: Made In India. One reason I did the film is that everyone was saying, ‘Aap yeh nahin kar sakte. You’re a chocolate boy, so you can’t do this. You’re a mass hero, so don’t go beyond that.’ I’ve heard these statements a lot. One director even told me that if you do comedies, you’ll be typecast. I’m glad people said such things. Because, later, when I went on to do other stuff, I knew I could pull it off. I believe in the human spirit... no matter what the obstacle, if you want to do something in life, you will find a way. That’s the only thing I tell myself.”

He further added, “Among my 10 films, I never worked with the top three directors of the country. Instead, I was blessed to collaborate with cool directors who changed my career — like Shashank Khaitan, Sriram Raghavan, Remo D’Souza, my brother Rohit (Dhawan), my dad and Karan (Johar), who, obviously, has played a pivotal role in my career. I wasn’t working with the successful directors of Dharma Productions. For the Dulhania franchise, I worked with Shashank, a new director who came from Nasik but both the movies (Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania and Badrinath Ki Dulhania) went on to do well. I do things when people say I can’t do that... I’m like a wounded tiger.”

Varun has an interesting line up of films. His upcoming release is SUi Dhaaga-Made in India that pairs him opposite Anushka Sharma. He will be next seen in Karan Johar’s Kalank which is directed by Abhishek Varman. The film has an ensemble cast including Alia Bhatt, Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditya Roy Kapur, and Kunal Kemmu. He also has Shashank’s Rannbhoomi and Remo’s ABCD3 with Katrina Kaif.