Many would know Varun Sharma because of his strengths as an irreverent comic character in different films but he says he knows the craft because of his experience in theatre. Riding high on Fukrey Returns , Varun is currently shooting with Govinda in FryDay . Starting his career as a casting assistant, he had had a tough journey to reach a position where he can pick and choose.
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How has life changed after “Fukrey”?
Obviously life has changed after first ‘Fukrey’ and I am on that stage when I am filtering scripts which are coming to me. The gap between the first Fukrey and the second one was of four years and I grew a lot between this phase. Before first one, I used to run around for auditions. After the success of the film, life changed from audition to direct narration! ‘Dolly Ki Doli’ and ‘Dilwale’ were major steps in establishing my image and whatever I did I was satisfied as an actor. In the initial part of my career, I got a chance to work with Rohit Shetty and share screen space with Shah Rukh sir, what else I can want.
Coming from Punjab, how difficult was it to inculcate the east Delhi character in you?
I have Punjabi accent and my Hindi is also laced with Punjabi. Delhi, itself, has different characters. There is a lot of difference in Jamuna Paar Delhi and North Delhi, which I knew from the very beginning. I used to go to the schools and colleges of that area as no one knew me that time and I used to study and observe those students. The slangs, body language, gestures, humour and a few dialogues in the film are those which I picked up from them.
When did you realise that you want to become an actor?
I still remember I used to dance on ‘Baazigar’ song, ‘Ye Kaali Kaali Aankhein’ and my mother used to think that it is just childhood thing which will go. But the impact of that performance remained in me and the thought of performing for larger audience lasted for long. When I did college, I was clear in my mind that every step should be towards achieving that goal. Theatre shaped me as an actor in Chandigarh, and in Mumbai, I started off as casting assistant with Nandini Shrikent in films like ‘Ye Jawani Hai Deewani’, ‘Reluctant Fundamentalist’ as I knew that it can make me more aware.
Has the perception for supporting actors in the industry changed?
Earlier, it used to be an aspirational cinema which showed you fantasy but one can now relate to what is being shown on the screen. This has opened new avenues for actors like me, for new young directors who come from outside of Mumbai and that is opening a new creative opportunity to create something different. I was on the posters of my films and I do not think that the line which identifies one as a bigger star and other as small does exists anymore except for some really big films. The audience is willing and is open to watch any good thing served to them, no matter who is playing what. That is why films like ‘Pyar ka Punchnama’, ‘Newton’ worked because they depend on characters in those films and the list of these films is really long.
Do you fear being typecast as a comic character?
I have been asked too many times and I say it again that it is very important for an actor to get cast on a regular basis in good films and I do not fear being typecast if I am getting work often. I enjoy the space of comedy genre as it is one of the toughest genres to crack and if there is an acceptability for me in that genre, why to take that away? I will explore myself as an actor with different kinds of roles but I will not just stop doing comic roles in the fear of being typecast. It will be ethically wrong as the genre has given me fame and whoever I am today is because of it only.
