The One And Only

While Varun Dhawan may be the most bankable star of his generation, what’s equally impressive is his artistic range. But where do his own sensibilities lie? Omkar Khandekar investigates

- Omkar Khandekar

By the time Varun Dhawan turns up for our interview at Body Sculptor gym in suburban Mumbai, I’ve declined two cups of coffee, checked Facebook eight times and small-talked the hell out of his personal trainer. I’m just about to start memorising the dishes served at the gym’s in-house café – organic gourmet fare for kale-quinoa-avocado junkies – when Dhawan breezes in, 50 minutes late. He’s wearing a body-hugging tee, black joggers and a beanie. He’s spotted me, he only has to quickly finish greeting his trainer and bantering with a couple of gym buddies who now surround him.

“Sorry, man, I was coming here and there was an accident between a bike and an autowallah,” he tells me as we shake hands. “I got down to help, but people started taking pictures.”

Of course they did. Dhawan is one of Bollywood’s most successful stars, with a chiselled body, a winning smile and family and friends at the top rungs of the industry. In his ten-film career, the 31-year-old has delivered hits more consistently than any of his contemporaries. He might be clueless about the Indian hinterland (he visited a “gaon” for the first time while shooting for his latest, Sui Dhaaga), but his high-octane pelvic thrusts and skirt-chasing histrionics pull the biggest crowds there as well. It’s a phenomenon even Salman Khan, the OG king of the masses, acknowledges: In a recent interview, he said Dhawan was a blend of Govinda, Sanjay Dutt and himself.