rom his debut in Student Of The Year , Varun Dhawan has emerged as the idol of the young and followed it up with films like Main Tera Hero , Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania and ABCD 2 . Earlier this year, in Badlapur, he also tried to appeal to a more discerning filmgoer. After being an assistant director to Karan Johar in the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer My Name Is Khan , Dhawan will soon be seen sharing screen space with the superstar in the mainstream potboiler, Dilwale . On the eve of the film’s release, he spoke to The Hindu .
Dilwale sounds like it's all about hearts and romance, how are you in real life?
I am very romantic and love romancing girls but right now I am busy concentrating on my work and shoots. I will romance when the time is right. I have a large heart and there are many special people in my heart like my mom, my dad and brother and his wife. I am having fun in life.
Tell us about your role in the film?
I play Veer and Shah Rukh plays my elder brother. We own a garage where we modify cars; funky, cool, fast and furious types of cars. It’s a relationship I identify with because I have an elder brother too and I run to him every time I am in trouble. In this film too my brother is cool, understanding and cultured. There’s a love story between Shah Rukh and Kajol and the love story between Kriti [Sanon] and me. They have a deep love and understanding but somewhere they are unsuccessful in their relationship. Ours is puppy love that somehow carries the baggage of their not-so-happy love story.
Were there any inhibitions working with SRK?
I never felt it. He is grounded and cool and he’s an interesting actor to do scenes with. He's very much into his role and the entire filmmaking process. It’s fun to work with him. And on Rohit [Shetty] sir’s sets, everyone is equal.
Were you ever in awe of him on the sets?
I have never been in awe of him; maybe it’s because I have seen him during childhood and have worked as an assistant director on the sets with him. I have never been in awe of anybody since childhood. As an actor and performer, Shah Rukh is very talented. He’s someone you look up to. However, my idols have always been sports stars like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.
Didn’t you fear that he would grab all the limelight?
He’s not that kind of a person. For our generation, Shah Rukh Khan is a legend. We are not in the same bracket and our audience is different, so there’s no comparison. He has a larger audience and my attempt right now is to get his audience to watch my film. I have to yet build my audience. In Dilwale , I will get seen much more because of him.
This is your first film with Kajol too?
Kajol is a superb actor and is very funny. Whenever we have done scenes together, we have laughed a lot. She is an honest actor and we have done a couple of emotional scenes, which have turned out very good.
How do you look back on your five-year journey in Bollywood so far?
The journey has been satisfying but I still have a long way to go. My takeaway from working with Shah Rukh, Kajol and Rohit is not to take success for granted; keep working hard. Despite having had so many hits in a row, Rohit has still not given up. He’s trying to make bigger and better films and he’s working hard to entertain more. It’s the same with Shah Rukh and Kajol: they are superstars and their chemistry is legendary, but they still keep working hard at their dialogues and scenes. Shah Rukh is like a child on the sets, and open to everything.
You have also done Shah Rukh’s signature pose in the film…
It’s incorporated in a scene where I plead and tell him to help me. There’s logic behind that and it’s almost like a new generation taking something old forward. Surprisingly, Shah Rukh himself doesn’t strike that pose in the film.
Which was the first Shah Rukh and Kajol movie you ever watched?
Baazigar was my first. I loved the film. I love Darr . I love the racing scene.
You have also done a lot of action sequences in the film?
I shot for 35 to 40 days for the film in Goa even before Shah Rukh did. I did the car stunts, a bar fight scene for which I had to do flips. I was not getting it right. I trained for it in Rohit Shetty’s office. The song “Manva Emotion Laage Re”, I call it a monster truck madness. There's a huge truck — 16-ft high — and I had to jump off it. I had to rehearse, but they said just go ahead and jump. And I did. It was thrilling.
You are working with your brother Rohit Dhawan in your next, Dishoom? Was he more lenient than your father?
He’s quite a taskmaster. The film has a lot of action scenes. He made me hang upside down for seven hours.
