Dilwale Updates Thread #5: Trailer 2 Love story - An Intense One - Page 6

The lead pair of Dilwale - Kriti Sanon and Varun Dhawan - in conversation with Team Box Office India

Box Office India (BOI): Varun, are you ready for your sixth film?

Kriti Sanon (KS): Hit machine! Hit machine!! Hit machine!!!

Varun Dhawan (VD): I am all set for my sixth release but it is not about how much money these films make but how much people genuinely like these films. And that is the attempt with every film.

BOI: With this film, will you be knocking it out of the park?

VD: I hope so. After Main Tera Hero, I am getting into comedy and along with that, there is a lot of drama and emotion in this film. But I primarily signed this film for the type of role I was getting to play and the emotional connect my character has with his elder brother. After Main Tera Hero, I have got an opportunity to do mainstream comedy. All of it is in Dilwale and it is full-on!

KS: It is very difficult to do comedy and it is very difficult to make people laugh. Among the younger generation of actors, I don't think anyone else can pull it off better than Varun.

VD: Honestly, it is not what I can do. Technically, I have worked with two directors who are baaps of this genre.

KS: Your dad... I am sure you must have learnt something from him.

VD: I give him full credit. My dad and even Rohit (Shetty) sir. Look at his track record in comedy.

KS: Yes, but not everyone can attempt a Govinda-style film. I think there are very few people who look good doing that. And Varun does.

BOI: Kriti, did you realise this after the shoot or while shooting?

KS: I have been telling him this throughout the shoot.

VD: Initially, she was unsure and would keep asking me, Tu aisa hi hai ya character ke liye aisa hua?' She finally said, Nahi, tu aisa hi hai.'

KS: His character Veer is a little more cracked than Varun is in real life. There is so much of Varun in the character.

VD: Are you crazy? Do you really think I behave like that in real life?

KS: Of course, you do!

VD: No, when the camera is not rolling, and I am home alone, I don't do this sort of thing.

KS: I have not seen you home alone.

BOI: What about you, Kriti, what was your reaction when you were approached for this film?

KS: I was obviously very excited. First, there was no audition. I had just one meeting and everything was finalised. It was very exciting because I have grown up watching Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol's films, and I couldn't believe that I was getting a chance to work with them in my second film, and that too, a film directed by Rohit Shetty. I was also excited to work with Varun. This film has so many experienced and talented actors. Just watching them performing live is a learning experience.

BOI: Varun, what was your reaction when you got a call from Rohit sir?

VD: First, I received a call from Yunus (Sajawal) bhai. I know him very well and he has also written a lot of my dad's films. So, in his typical sweet and low-pitched voice, he said, Varun, tu aisa kar tu aaja office, apan baith lete hai ek baar aur sun lete hai par kisi ko mat bolna.' I told my brother (Rohit Dhawan) about it as he is also a big Rohit Shetty fan. He said I should go but shouldn't tell anyone. So I didn't tell Karan (Johar) and I didn't even tell my dad. These are the two people I usually tell first.

I loved the story and then, straightaway, I went to Karan's house. Karan knows just how big a fan I am of Rohit Shetty. He is supposed to make a film with Rohit sir after this one, and I wanted to be cast in it. I would say, Le lo, le lo, le lo,' and he would make fun of me. He would always say, Why should I cast you? You have to become a big star, only then will Rohit will cast you.' So I met Karan and I said, See, I got the film and I got it on my own!' So, Karan being Karan, said, Do it, it is a huge opportunity for you but be sure that you are able to pull it off.' I told him it was in my zone and it was my kind of film. When I came home and told my dad, poor Yunus bhai who talks so sweetly in a low-pitched voice was like, Haan haan haan David ji.' His voice rose so high as he was not supposed to tell anyone!

Obviously, when we all met Rohit sir, we all were kind of intimidated by him, initially.

KS: Also, he is a little shy. He doesn't say a lot and he doesn't open up very easily.

VD: (Cuts in) He talks under his breath. When I came to meet him in his office, he only laughed at me. Because when I went I started off with things like, Mere baal aise hone chahiye, kapde aise hone chahiye'.

KS: You said all this during your first meeting?

VD: (Laughs) Yes, and all he said was, Varun, I will call you.' I have to say that Rohit Shetty is one of the best human beings I have ever met. I mean, his team is prepared to give their life for him and that's because he stands by them. Kuch bhi ho jane do, picture band ho jane do but Rohit Shetty will stand by his team.

KS: He also includes everyone on the set when he asks for suggestions. There was this time when we spontaneously added a line or two to a scene. Everyone offered suggestions and he accepted feedback from everyone.

VD: (Cuts in) Also, we were wondering whether he would approve of our way of doing things or taking a scene forward. I felt as if I had forgotten how to act. I was not scared acting alongside Shah Rukh sir and I was not scared to act with Kajol ma'am, but I was a little nervous in the beginning when we started working with Rohit sir. I feel his stardom and his aura as a director. Usually, directors don't look or behave like that. He runs on the sets, he has a walkie-talkie, and he is very smooth.

KS: And he does the stunts on his own.

VD: He does them better than the hero, especially the action sequences!

KS: He is the only one who does all the action.

VD: How to walk, the attitude, the kicks and the punches... he can do them all. So initially I was like, Yaar, main nahi kar paunga aur director kar lega toh merko toh karna hi padega na.'

KS: And I don't think he has worked with newer actors, only very experienced ones.

VD: That is why he calls us baccha party. (Laughs)

KS: Yes... we had a lot of questions on the sets.

VD: Only her questions...

KS: One second... he was nicknamed One More Dhawan' on the sets.

VD: One More Dhawan' is not a question; it is for the number of takes.

KS: Yes, because after every take, he would say, Sir, one more take, please sir.'

VD: That is a take, not a question.

KS: Half the time the camera wouldn't even roll. Sir would be like, Isko karne do, I will roll the camera in the next take.'

VD: Okay, when Rohit sir comes to Box Office India, you ask him about this. I won't say anything about Kriti; you ask him.

KS: But even you...

VD: Yes, ask about me also. He will talk about me; he will praise me; he loves me. But ask about Kriti.

BOI: How did it feel when Rohit Shetty said Action' for the first time?

VD: I felt I was part of this humongous film. One of the biggest films we have ever made in this country. I mean, I was in a car; there was a GoPro in front and there was a camera on both sides; there was a telecamera; there were two or three drone cameras. So there were like 10 cameras. And Varun Sharma was sitting next to me and he got so scared. He was sweating and said, Bhai, yeh kya ho raha hain bhai. Humse hoga ki nahi hoga?'

BOI: Tell us about your first scene with Shah Rukh Khan.

KS: I had met him before we started shooting the film and that's why I became comfortable doing it. Otherwise I would have been very nervous. I was still nervous. And towards the end Rohit sir understood, so he said we would shoot the rest the next day. And there was this friendly bond I was sharing with him. It felt like I had known him for years. I was not intimidated by him. Actually, you cannot be intimidated by him. Within five second he makes everyone comfortable around him. That's the charisma he has. It went well. I was supposed to shout at him. That was my first scene with him, shouting at him.

VD: That too quite loudly.

KS: I had to like really shout at him, point a finger at him. I was so nervous. It was awkward doing such a scene with Shah Rukh sir.

VD: It was quite funny from her point of view. I was also in the scene, but I was supposed to be scared, so main bach gaya. The scene was her scolding him. Like, Shah Rukh ko daant rahi hai', if she tried to do it in a subtle way, then one would have said, Character mein nahi hain'.

KS: Shah Rukh sir kept telling me to increase the intensity and scold loudly, so I also got excited, went into a zone and did the scene. But then Rohit sir and Yunus bhai spoke to me and told me that my character would not go that far. They said, Daant le but don't get on him and stuff'. After that, the second day went fine.

BOI: And the first day when you shot with Kajol?

KS: I talk a lot on the sets otherwise. You can always hear me if you are on the sets. But that day I was not talking to anybody, I was absolutely quiet. I had never met Kajol ma'am before. And she is a little guarded. She takes her time to warm up. And she is really strong when it comes to acting. We were shooting a serious and intense scene.

VD: I don't know what happened to her before doing that scene. I have seen that scene and it is one of her best scenes. She is very good in it.

KS: You know, the scenes that I am most scared about doing somehow turn out to be the best ones. Later, she was very helpful and told me to say a few lines a certain way so the emotion would connect.

BOI: Varun, what was your first day like with Kajol?

KS: She was laughing; I think she was laughing at you.

VD: She was laughing at me. She had seen some of my scenes from the film and I think I can say that she is very fond of me.

KS: She wants to adopt him.

VD: I get along with her really well, where humour is concerned. But we were doing serious scenes too. I actually felt I was doing a scene with a friend. It felt like meeting a friend after a long gap.

I was actually very happy because she never once made me feel like I was a junior actor. It was like Kajol ma'am and I ganged up against Kriti. We just laughed throughout. I don't know why. Maybe she did it to make me comfortable. We were fooling, making fun of each other. We used to laugh looking at our takes. Eventually Kriti, who was supposed to cry, also started laughing with us. Rohit sir laughed from behind the camera; I think he also gave up.

KS: Rohit sir knew he would now get the shot only after 20 minutes. Because for 20 minutes she (Kajol) then keeps laughing. And I don't think anyone can laugh so much in between an emotional scene.

VD: Exactly... and that shows the brilliance of Kajol ma'am as an actress. With some actors, if it's a serious scene then they get into a serious zone, a serious headspace. But she behaves as she feels. Once you say action, she is totally in character. And she knows what to do once she is in character.

KS: The funny part is she is laughing at her own clothes, her own frames. It's not even like it's my close-up or his (Varun's).

VD: I have to say I have never met an actor like that. I have seen Govinda at work, very closely; after him I think it's Kajol who is most unaffected by her own talent.

BOI: Tell us about the action in the film.

VD: Kriti is the golden gun. Ask her...

BOI: What is the golden gun?

KS: There is this gun which Shah Rukh sir has in the flashback.

VD: (Cuts in) This story you should ask Rohit sir.

KS: Please yaar...

VD: Rohit sir was showing us some action scenes which they shot in Bulgaria. Everything was so big. It was an outstanding sequence. The cars were flying, there was a chase, a Mustang, a Bimmer... all kinds of cars were getting blown up. And after the whole sequence was over and people had clapped and everything, Kriti says to Shah Rukh Khan, Sir, aapka woh golden gun mujhe bahut pasand aaya'. And Shah Rukh sir looks at her and says, Tujhe aur kuch nahi aaya pasand, bas wahi golden gun dikha?'

KS: But it was cute. I was seeing it for the first time, the gun. So I liked it and complimented him. In fact I told him while watching it but then there was this eagerness inside me to tell sir (SRK). So once it got over I told him.

VD: But Kriti has this thing which is actually a very good quality too, perhaps, in this business; if she feels something, she will genuinely let you know.

KS: Now let's talk about the action. Why are you talking about the golden gun?

VD: As for the action, I have to say it's not gimmicky. You will actually feel that the person sitting in the car has actually been blown up. In the hand-to-hand combat, you will actually think people were hurt, because people actually were. And people have been thrown from pillar to post, and fallen. Hats off to Rohit sir and his entire team for how they pulled off the action scenes. I am very proud actually to be part of a film that has action scenes of this caliber.

KS: What I really like about the action is that his action is very different from Shah Rukh sir's action. It's not like two people are fighting in the same manner. There is one sequence which is my favourite bit in the film, which is an action scene of Shah Rukh sir's. In the trailer you see...

VD: (Cuts In) Mill Action

KS: Yes, we call it mill action.

VD: It is outstanding.

KS: It is OUTSTANDING! It is so raw and so real, not like he is fighting 10 goons alone and with one punch they all are down... it's really raw.

VD: You will see that the attitude is like Darr ka Shah Rukh Khan. He is that gruesome in that action. You can say it

is such serious action that you will be amazed that the film has taken such a hardcore approach.

KS: Even his action is very good. There is this one shack where we shot him beating up some guys.

VD: Oh, I have decided that I am going to say something.

KS (Cuts In): You have decided...

VD: Yes. In this film I am against drugs, like majorly against drugs, and I battle against them like...

KS (Cuts In): Even your brother...

VD: Yes, even my brother... as a family. When I dub the whole film, I realise just how anti-drugs it is. So there is a very good message for the youth here. There is a whole track, in fact, that revolves around how people want to introduce you to drugs. It's a small track but it makes a lot of sense to me ... how they want to introduce drugs in society, how they want to get youngsters hooked.

BOI: What kind of response have you got for the trailer and songs, Manma, Gerua and now Janam janam?

VD: I have received a very good response, for the film overall. Anyone who see Gerua is like, Wow'. I think the audio got a pretty huge response too. Manma I think the youth took to straight away. I saw a lot of celebrity Dubsmashes happening. We were very fortunate that Tiger (Shroff), Sushant (Singh Rajput), Ayushmann (Khurrana), Sonakshi (Sinha), Elli (Avram) and Arjun (Kapoor) have all done it.

KS: (Cuts In) And they are very innovative.

VD: I truly believe that Manma will take one more week, but by the time the film comes out, Manma will become the party song of the year. Also, the parties will start by that time.

KS: Okay, my friends are not from the industry so I get the normal audience reaction as well and all my friends absolutely love that song. My sister's friends, who I think are a whole other generation because they are so young, are all loving the song because it is a very funky, peppy party track. It's got a very nice hook line. It's the first time I've heard a Bhojpuri line in a hip hop song.

VD: (Cuts In) That was nice.

KS: It was very cool.

BOI: What was the experience like in London?

KS: Very good. I loved it. For me it was a totally different kind of experience because it was my first promotion in London. We went to Cineworld Feltham...

VD: (Cuts In) BBC Studios.

KS: BBC Studios was also very good, but for me Cineworld Feltham was the moment, because there were so many people and so much excitement. They had brought printouts, photographs and stuff. They had been waiting since 10 am, which was a long time, and in that cold weather. They were screaming their lungs out and singing the songs with us. They were shouting our names.

VD: For me what was shocking was that for the first time ever, we got invited to Sky News, which is the leading channel there, and we were interviewed by the prime-time reporter who is like an Arnab there. On Sky News they played Dilwale's trailer on prime time too, so for me not only as an actor but also as an Indian, that was such a proud feeling, because often our news channels play trailers of James Bond and Mission Impossible movies.

For our trailer to play there, and for them to wake up and acknowledge that Shah Rukh Khan is probably one of the biggest stars in the world... and for that guy to introduce me as the rising star of the Indian film fraternity'. I couldn't believe it. It was what I had always dreamt of. To actually see it happen was seeing proof of Shah Rukh sir's stardom worldwide

BOI: Was it difficult to act with actors like Johnny Lever and Sanjay Mishra?

VD: Yes. If I was a little bit nervous in this film, it was when I was acting with Sanjay Mishra and Johnny Lever. The moment I met Sanjay sir I told him, Guruji, aap jis school se ho main wohi school se hoon, toh please mujhe aapni sharan mein le lo'. And Johnny bhai, I am so blessed that he, Varun Sharma and I had so many scenes together. We used to picture the scenes a certain way and he would come in and take them to a whole other level. One thing I am very proud of is that there is a scene in the film where I improvised and then Johnny bhai took that and flew with it and later he patted me on the back and even Rohit sir said, That was very good, Varun'.

KS: Which scene was that?

VD: It was the drug scene only, and for me it was the big moment on set - where I managed to improvise in a scene with Johnny Lever. These things were so special for me with these guys, even with Sanjay Mishra. Given a chance, I would improvise every time, because they take it to another level.

KS: (Cuts In) He actually throws you off completely.

VD: He is brilliant. I mean, I haven't met an actor like him. When he acts, I just want to sit and stare.

KS: That is what I did, actually. Sanjay Mishra is a gifted actor.

BOI: What do you think will happen on December 18?

VD: I think, for a film like Dilwale, very honestly, given how big it is, it is only from Monday that you will really find out just how much the audience has liked it. I think the audiences' love for the Khans is such that that Friday, Saturday or Sunday does not matter, woh toh hona hi hona hai. It is from Monday that you will know what the film will be. I am just hoping that when they go to see the film, the families go, all the dadis and aunties, and they come out and smile and say, Hasaya, beta! Thank you!' (Laughs).

That's honestly my thing, because I have done this film for that. I have done this film to make the audience happy. I have done this film to make them smile, so that they go home thinking of my scene, even if they are laughing at me. Even if I have made a fool of myself. I don't mind, as long as I make my audience happy.

You know, when the trailer came out, some people said, Why are you not in the trailer prominently?' But I have moved beyond those things. After spending 150 days with Rohit sir, I have that much belief and trust in him and I have seen and dubbed the film and I know that he has taken so much care of me. That's why this time I am so sure of my performance. I am just so sure of this film. I have not felt like this in all my five or six films that I have done.

With this film, there was another vibe on the sets, so much positivity. In other films of mine, I may have felt that kind of energy in one or two scenes. That feeling that this is the highlight and this will work aur ispe toh audience taali maaregi hi! With this film, I used to feel that aura every day. And he never once said, I am Rohit Shetty and I have made this film...' and stuff. He would just look at me and say, Tension mat le, beta. Don't worry, I am there.' It's Rohit Shetty and Team, we were all working together as a team.

KS: I think he has more confidence in us than we actually have in ourselves.

VD: (Cuts In) No! Only you! I have confidence in myself (Laughs).

KS: Seriously, it's especially with me, I think. This is my second film and honestly there were times when I was scared and wondering if I was doing it right.

VD: (Cuts In) Yes, you are very critical of yourself.

KS: Will you just shut up!

VD: No, seriously. When you compliment her saying you were good in this scene, she will be like No ya, I wasn't'.

KS: See, I never want to be satisfied as an actor, because then you don't grow as an actor. But honestly after seeing the outcome of this film, I feel much more confident. And this happened with me during Heropanti also. I think when you watch yourself, you criticise your work more than others do, which is how it should be! In this film also, he (Rohit Shetty) kept on saying that you were good enough but you will not understand it, you guys are still kids. But for me I think if the director is happy with what I have done, then I think I have done my job well.

VD: So are you happy with yourself in this film?

KS: Yes I am.

BOI: How good is Varun in the movie?

KS: He's very good. Ab main uski kya tareef karu? He has left no stone unturned in his performance. He has left nothing for me to say (Laughs).

BOI: So Varun, in this film, we have Shah Rukh Khan as the main lead. Is this a one-off opportunity or will you do more multi-starrers in future?

VD: I am doing Dhishoom after this, so for me honestly it is the subject that matters. I should really die to do the film; it should be that kind of story. And trust me if the setup of Dilwale wasn't the way it is, I would have still done it because I believe that this film is a good film and it's the right film for this time. India needs a film like this.

BOI: Lastly, what has David sir got to say about this film of yours?

VD: He's watched it and is very happy with it, as this is very close to the genres of films that he makes. Sometimes he is not very happy with the choices that I make, because those are very different from the genres of films that he makes, but then he watches them and appreciates them because he is a cinema-lover. Like he's made Aankhen and all that kind of stuff with entertainment, action, romances, everything on a big scale. This film is very much the David Dhawan genre. And he loves Rohit sir as a director, so he is looking forward to how I have done comedy. (Laughs)

And I know my father will want me to work in comedies like these, so if I can do my father proud, it would be great! I know that no matter what other genres I choose, he will love me doing his kind of cinema - comedy!

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