Look No Further

VARUN DHAWAN BELIEVES OCTOBER WAS A SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE. SUMAN SHARMA LISTENS TO THE ACTOR IN PROGRESS

He’s an industry kid. But he takes nothing for granted. He’s enjoying a ‘no flop’ reputation.

But he’s forever trying to up his game. He’s aced the commercial genre with hits like Student Of The Year, Main Tera Hero, Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, Dishoom, Dilwale, ABCD2, Badrinath Ki Dulhania and Judwaa 2. Yet the young superstar chose to do Sriram Raghavan’s dark thriller Badlapur and recently Shoojit Sircar’s poetic love story October. The offbeat film reached the 50 crore mark.

The 31-year-old actor, who was listed in the Forbes India list of highest paid celebrities last year, has earned mammoth critical acclaim with his latest outing. He plays a hotel management trainee, Danish Walia (Dan), in the film, which revolves around his complex feelings for his bedbound colleague Shiuli Iyer (Banita Sandhu). “Creative satisfaction is important for an actor. After doing films like Badrinath Ki Dulhania, Judwaa 2, I couldn’t see myself cracking jokes and smiling on the screen,” says Varun who’s consumed by his passion to experiment. “It’s a big jump for me as an actor. Trying to reinvent, reassemble yourself... that only comes when you work with new directors. I needed this break.” Displaying wisdom way beyond his years he adds, “Commercial films are physically demanding. You also have to look good and deliver, so they’re exhausting. But films like Badlapur and October give emotional trauma.”