Varun Dhawan On The Art And Mart Of Cinema

Hup two three… he’s the industry’s brightest hope. Whatever Varun Dhawan does turns into gold. Anuradha Choudhary meets Mr Midas

- Anuradha Choudhary

We’re at Sunny Super Sound studio in the ’burbs where Varun Dhawan is dubbing for his forthcoming Judwaa 2. As usual, a few fan types have gathered around to catch a glimpse of him. The hero doesn’t disappoint anyone. He makes everyone feel special, joking with one, asking a pertinent question to another, clicking pictures with a child…

They say an actor must have the ability to connect with his audience. That’s when the numbers come in. Considering he’s had a cent per cent record at the box-office, Varun surely has it in spades. His ability to cut across ages is something special. He talks to the audience in their lingo. And that’s why he’s here to stay. In the most mind-bending of films, you can’t help but chuckle at his capers. Student Of The Year, his debut, gave you a pretty clear idea of his range. He followed up that promise with the grey Badlapur and the fun Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania. The more recent Badrinath Ki Dulhania has him serving up an ace too.

His latest outing, Judwaa 2, directed by dad David Dhawan, promises to be a mad cap caper, Varun reprises the role that Salman Khan did 20 years ago. If the few snatches, he showed us is anything to go by, Judwaa 2 is high on adrenaline. Yes, retro is uber cool when it’s done the Varun Dhawan way. He’s trying to hop out of the hackneyed slowly. And yet is realistic to know that you have to draw the audiences in. So right now, he’s concentrating on the numbers. Knowing his track record, that should be the least of his worries. But the dismal movie scene this year has the IT boy worried. Reason enough to quiz him then:

2017 has been the worst year as far as movies are concerned. Few films have made a mark. How do you view this?