Being an actor, not a star

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I saw him perform to the hilt — natural, as if he were doing it for years. Effortless expression and easy fluid steps during his dancing. I had heard before seeing the movie that he has given a great performance and he didn’t let us down. “It was important to come across as the character demanded.

The character of Rohan was against the tide and his thought process was similar to mine,” he continued, “Karan Johar is a genius. He creates an environment where you can be natural and connect as much with the character. He also understands and allows your own freedom of expression,” said Varun Dhawan who has already stolen the hearts of many with his first performance in Student of The Year.
I asked him if he always wanted to be an actor hailing from a filmy background. “I did,” he laughed, “But never admitted it. I used to see young stars send their resume to my father. I was amazed at their passion towards this profession and knew that I could not match that. I needed to get myself in the space where acting would be my oxygen. I used to tell people I wanted to be a wrestler or run a TV channel,” he laughed again.
When he finally decided, he joined Barry John’s acting classes. “He influenced my thinking a lot and taught me about theatre improvisation. I learnt about understanding emotion and using it in my performance. Not very long ago I had a very painful breakup. Some of the pain lingers and I understand emotion better when I need to express it,” he said.
“Barry has also inculcated the understanding about having to stop thinking about myself. Now I have a lot of curiosity about what people think and the quality of their thoughts. When the watchman does a salaam, I wonder what he is really thinking.” Talking to Varun was refreshing and he surprised me with his levels of introspection.
I asked him a predictable question about why he did not work for his father first. “My father is a hard task master. Besides, he does not work with newcomers,” he laughed.
And being David Dhawan’s son, has it been easier? “Expectation puts big pressure on you, yet I am sure in some ways it has been easier.”
He spoke about the book he was reading called Outliers — a book on successful people. “The book talks about people who irrespective of success, failure, wealth or not, have their own journey, one that could be equally painful,” he said, again sounding more profound than his years.
Karan Johar once told him: “Varun, be an actor. Star is something the audience makes.” Varun said, “I want my work to speak for myself. And I am my biggest critic. I want to keep setting new benchmarks and learn every day. Working with stars like Rishi Kapoor was itself a great learning experience.”
I remarked that I was impressed about how grounded his views are and wondered if they would always remain that way. “Let’s talk about this in one year,” he said in jest, adding, “Being mobbed by people after one performance does not mean that much. It’s consistency that counts. I do want to remain grounded and always maintain my childhood friends like Aman and Ankit, who will always be my reality check... And visit Sukh Sagar and eat masala cheese dosa and watermelon juice.”
Was his father proud of his performance? “Yes. My parents were proud. However, my dad is already talking to me about my next project and the importance of that. And my dear mother, who always said observing people teaches you more about acting, still wants me to learn horse-riding,” he confessed.