Student of the Year star Varun Dhawan feels the appreciation he receives from the audience is more of a priority than earning money and fame through films. Before making his acting debut, Varun had worked as assistant director for Shahrukh Khan-starrer My Name is Khan. The next film he will be seen in is Main Tera Hero, directed by his father David Dhawan.
“Entertaining the audience is important to me. Money and fame don’t feature in my list. I love to perform. I have seen my father get fame and money, but even for him audience is more important,” said Varun.
Varun does not view anybody as his competitor. “I am not here to prove myself to any individual in the film industry. For me audience is important and their love and acceptance is essential. I will continue to entertain audience with different kinds of films. I don’t want to bore them by doing one kind of cinema,” he added.
The projects Varun is presently working on are upcoming masala comedy Main Tera Hero, a thriller from Sriram Raghavan, rom-com Humpty Sharma Ki Dhulania and a sequel to Anybody Can Dance.
When asked what sort of changes he witnessed in the two-year gap after the release of Student of the Year, Varun said, “The biggest change came after the trailer of Main Tera Hero was released. A lot of people including shopkeepers and kids are getting to know me. My first film, Student of the Year, was meant for a certain kind of an audience, but this film is for all.”
When asked if working with his director father was pre-planned, Varun replied: “It was not a deliberate decision, it just happened. I did this film for emotional reasons not commercial. This is my dad’s 43rd film and my second. To work with an established director like him in the early stage of my career is a blessing.”
The actor insisted that his relationship with his father did not make the dynamic on set easier. “He was more like a director. There was no such father-son relation sort of a thing. It was difficult to work with him as he is a taskmaster,” said Varun.
The film is set to release on April 4, 2014.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 25th, 2014.
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