Varun Dhawan clocks 10 years in Hindi film industry

Mumbai: There was a time when he was “arrogant” but now he is more responsible as an actor, said Hindi film industry star Varun Dhawan, who completed a decade in the movies Wednesday.

Varun made his debut with the 2012 film Student of the Year, which also launched Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotra’s careers in the movies.

The actor, whose last film JuggJug Jeeyo was a success, said he is enjoying the current phase and is looking forward to the release of his upcoming horror comedy Bhediya.

“I have always kept an ear out to hear what the audience is trying to tell me. It isn’t that I have done superb work in every film… I am always trying to grow. There was a time when I had thought arrogantly. That everything is going fine, so why should I even care what someone is saying?

“Now, I think I am more responsible… Right now, I want to enjoy the success Bhediya will bring, what Jugjugg Jeeyo brought. Because I heard the audience, I did a film like Bhediya, worked with a filmmaker like Amar, a producer like Dinesh,” Varun told reporters at the Bhediya trailer launch here.

Directed by Amar Kaushik of Stree fame, Bhediya follows Bhaskar (Varun), who transforms into a werewolf on every full moon night after he is bitten by a mythical wolf. Dinesh Vijan of Maddock Films has produced the movie, which is slated to be released November 25.

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The upcoming film will be a visual treat for the audience, said Varun.

“I feel as Indian cinema, we are ready for this and we won’t settle for less,” he added.

The actor also quipped he has been part of films that had “cringe worthy” VFX but lied about their quality during film promotions.

“When I look back, I can see there have been cringe worthy moments in the VFX. But I was not the one who did the VFX. As an actor, I can try and work with directors and producers who can bring about that change,” he said.

Bhediya is the third offering in Vijan’s horror-comedy universe after Stree (2018) and Roohi (2020).

While the film promises well-executed visuals, Kaushik said he didn’t seek any inspiration from Hollywood to create the world of Bhediya.

“It is not that we have looked at Hollywood and made this. The writers had a seed of an idea about animals and then we kept improving. We wanted to make something that is of international standard, we took all the support to make it,” the director said.

Varun further said he hopes the audience will appreciate his work in the film.

“The first thing Amar had told me is ‘You will not do comedy in this film because then people will not take you seriously’. So, all the credit to Amar for the performance and hopefully, it lives up to his expectations.

“He has a high standard of performance. Before me, he has worked with Rajkummar Rao (Stree) and Ayushmann Khurrana (Bala). They are fine actors, I love them.”

Kriti Sanon, who plays Dr Anika in the film, praised Varun for his dedication. The actor duo previously co-starred in the 2015 film Dilwale.

“He has really worked very hard. He (Amar) is the first director who would say ‘I don’t want abs and if you bring it, I will not remove it’.

“The way he has worked hard, whether it was his look, body, animal flow… There is a journey of the character… He is just Bhediya all the time,” Sanon added.

Abhishek Banerjee, Deepak Dobriyal, and Paalin Kabak round out the cast of Bhediya.