At the teaser launch of Dharma Productions’ magnum opus Kalank, Varun Dhawan was the man of the moment. His sweeping entry, easy charm and on-point wit left all floored. Given his energy, it was difficult to believe he had dashed down to Mumbai after a 10-hour flight from London. But that’s how life is in the fast lanes for the most sought after star in showbiz. Riding high on an enviable 100 per cent success rate, Varun has floored both the masses and the classes. He can topline a 100-crore hit like Judwaa 2 and also woo critics with films like October and Sui Dhaaga: Made in India. After Abhishek Varman’s ensemble drama Kalank, the young star is set to burn the screen with his moves in Street Dancer 3D. He then switches gear to comedy with the remake of dad David Dhawan’s Coolie No.1. Shashank Khaitan’s Ranbhoomi is another actioner, where he will flex both his muscles and mojo. In the midst of all this bustle, his romance with long-time girlfriend Natasha Dalal has assumed deeper hues. Though he shoots down rumours of a fast-approaching marriage, he confides he’s simply revelling in the ‘vibe’ of love. Excerpts…
You’ve just launched a magnum opus of a trailer. Kalank seems to be your biggest film…
It’s a crazy feeling. It seems like a dream. I was asked to behave myself and not fool around too much during the trailer launch because the film is such. Abhishek (Varman) has worked his ass off. This time, I’ve blindly surrendered to the director because he was way more obsessed with the film than I usually am.
You’re known to have a crazy passion to promote your films as well…
When I’m marketing a film, I like doing crowd events because that’s the time people can see me without paying for it. I’m not getting paid for it either. I’m ‘live’ for them. Initially, I just wanted to act. Now I want to reach out to my audience. I enjoy the live connect.
Being the hero of the masses – is that your dream?
Yes. That’s been my aim since the start of my career. I do mass entertainers to please my audience. Having said that, I love my films Badlapur, October and Sui Dhaaga: Made In India. They taught me a lot. They helped me get in touch with things I feared I’d lose. When I was training with Barry John, I was only doing drama. But people have never seen me do an outright drama till now. Drama is one of my favourite genres. I just didn’t get the opportunity. Also, The way I looked in Student Of The Year (2012), nobody would have imagined I could do drama.
Changing gears from October to a drama like Kalank… does it involve a lot of unlearning?
Yeah a lot of unlearning. When you do a film like October, the unlearning is of another level. You surrender to that. I was comfortable doing Sui Dhaaga... It was my zone. It had humour, emotion and romance. So, I enjoyed that. But Kalank was difficult.
Why?
This story is from the MAY 2019 edition of GLOBAL MOVIE MAGAZINE.
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This story is from the MAY 2019 edition of GLOBAL MOVIE MAGAZINE.
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