Varun Dhawan on hitting the right grooves to success

Stand up and deliver

So you've been signed for Shuddhi. How did that happen?
Shuddhi is the talk of the town. Too much has been spoken about it already. It's unfair on Karan Malhotra, the director of the film.I don't think we should speak anything about Shuddhi now. The film should be the talk, not its actors. So let the visuals of Shuddhi come out, let people see what it is.

Is it true Salman Khan suggested your name?
Yes he did, I think. He and Karan (Johar) did have a talk about it. Why Salman bhai is not doing the film, is his personal reason. When I signed the film, I spoke to Bhai first. He gave me his blessings. He also tweeted about it. (Smiles) I don't know where he found that childhood picture of mine. But I have a relationship with him, which is beyond these things. But I'll never do a film because someone has recommended me. I've to like the film. I've seen something of what Karan Malhotra has done. Only then I signed the film.

Dilwale is another film that's the talk of town...
Dilwale is huge. I can say that right now. I shot my introduction for about 20 days. And I can't tell you how many cameras were on me. I felt like I was shooting on the Transformers' set or something. The passion that Shah Rukh sir has and Rohit sir has is something else. Honestly, I've not seen a more hardworking director than Rohit Shetty. He's running on the set, he's driving cars, he's doing stunts. He's the superstar of the film.

Which are the actors whose careers you look out for?
I always watch out for Irrfan and Nawazuddin. Their films are always interesting. Otherwise, I don't really watch out for anyone else. I'm being genuine. Why do I have to watch out for them? Sidharth (Malhotra) has just done Brothers. His line-up seems pretty interesting. I know Arjun (Kapoor) has a good script sense so he'll pick something cool. Ayushmann (Khurrana) did Dum Laga Ke Haisha, his performance was amazing. Everyone is doing something interesting. I watch movies like an audience. I'm always excited to see films by the Khans, by Hrithik Roshan. I watched Gabbar Is Back in the theatre recently. I watched Tanu Weds Manu Returns and I went mad. I like to watch all films. The one actor whose every film I see is The Rock.

The Rock sent you a message recently...
Yes. This is bigger than anything that's happened in my career by far. This is insane and this happened only because of my fans. He's my idol. Honestly, nothing feels greater. There was one big moment in my life before this, when I won the running championship in school in the sixth standard. It was huge because I'd achieved something for the first time. This is No 2. Rock is special to me not only because he's a wrestler or an entertainer or an actor but because he is a motivator. Honestly, I give him credit for where I'm today. I believed in him from the first time I saw him on Monday night RAW. Today he's an actor and worth billions. He connects with the audience and he's not even hit half his potential yet. He's got a crazy following. He's a big inspiration.

You're known to be competitive.
It's not there much anymore. There's nothing wrong with being competitive but it's become less. Maybe the competitiveness is still there but the insecurity is gone. And even the competitiveness is more with myself. (Smiles) I'd hear actors say this and I'd think jhooth bol raha hai. But now I know what they mean. Today it's more about pushing the envelope with cinema. Like I'm so passionate about ABCD2 because it's a 3D film. The visuals are breathtaking. As good as a Hollywood film I'd say. This is what excites me. I want to do different things, better myself. I've matured. I've worked with really good people like Remo sir, my dad, Shashank (Khaitan, director Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania). When you get to know more people, you stop thinking only about yourself, you start thinking about others. I might have evolved a little, very little, like 0.5%. But yeah.

But you've said that Alia Bhatt and you are very competitive.
Yeah. Alia and I are very competitive. If she denies this, she's lying.

Now that she's seeing Sidharth, has your relationship with her and Sidharth changed?
I don't know whether they're seeing each other or not. It's not my life so I can't comment on that. When Badlapur happened, I got into that film and cut off from everyone. That was the turning point in my life. There are many people who stood by me at that point; those are the people in my life today. Sid and I are actually in touch. Everything is cool between Alia and me. There's no animosity. I don't see any problem between us. If there was any, I'm sure I'd have heard about it.