I can kiss Shraddha without inhibition-VD

Varun Dhawan on his ABCD 2 co-star Shraddha Kapoor, 'rival' Sidharth Malhotra, 'heartbroken' Alia Bhatt and 'date' Nargis Fakhri.

At a dance studio, industriously rehearsing some difficult moves, Varun Dhawan is a man on a mission. So far, 2014 has been a good year for him at the box-office with both, Main Tera Hero and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, turning out to be commercial successes. Unlike the complicated moves on the dance floor, is he playing it easy when it comes to his choice of movies?

"That's the general perception, but it's not true," Varun says, looking thoughtfully out of the window as a monsoon shower splashes the pane. "Sriram's next, Badlapur, is a film many warned me against doing. But I like going against the tide. Besides, I was convinced about Sriram's style of working. It's really not about playing it safe anymore."

So the good student that he is, did he consult mentor Karan Johar before going ahead with this high risk proposition? Varun nods and admits that both KJo and his father (director Varun Dhawan) are always in the know about his decisions. "Karan guides me in the correct direction yet doesn't impose his opinions on me.

He lets me take the final call," says Varun. But of late, Karan has been increasingly favouring the other student, Sidharth Malhotra. He not only has a superhero movie lined up, but also a sci-fi romance and a martial arts drama, both to be produced by KJo. It seems that his peer is edging him out. Does Varun feel the pressure ? "I don't really care what anyone else is doing. I'm only focussed on my work. Do you think I have the time to keep a track of other people's careers?" he asks, rolling his eyes.

But it makes sense to keep tab on the competition, doesn't it? "No.

Instead, I look at the reactions to my movies. When we were shooting Badlapur in the interiors of Maharashtra, many locals would call me Humpty Dumpty which just reinforced how successful my last release was," he argues confidently.

While Arjun Kapoor has been finalised to play Lakhan in the Ram Lakhan remake, a Rohit Shetty and Karan Johar collaboration, buzz is that he's still in the running for Ram. That draws a smile, "Rohit Shetty is my favorite Bollywood director and all I can say at this point is that I'm committed to doing a film with a Rohit (his brother whose name also happens to be Rohit is planning a film with him) in 2015"

Meanwhile, Alia Bhatt in an interview to Filmfare confessed that she was "nursing a broken heart." Was he the heart-breaker? "What did I do?" says a wide-eyed Varun. "My heart is also broken. I've just come out of an intense film and life is really complicated right now."

It's evident that on the subject of Alia, he is not going to reveal more, so we move on to his childhood buddy and ABCD 2 co-star Shraddha Kapoor. "We are a jodi in the making since 20 years. I can kiss her without inhibitions as we have shared a lot of things, including our childhood together!" he laughs.

And what would Nargis Fakhri have to say to that given that they are reportedly dating each other. The smile is replaced with a frown. "I'm alright with people making up stuff about me but not when there's a woman involved. Nargis is a great girl and I wouldn't want people to talk cheaply about her," he signs off.