Alia is not my best friend, but she is special: Varun Dhawan
14/04/2019
Meeting Varun Dhawan is always a delightful experience. Unlike many other superstars who wear their most amicable face during film promotions and go back to hiding behind ‘dark glasses’ otherwise, Varun is transparent.
He always wears his best profile, knows what he wants and is fully tuned in to what he is selling, whether it is his film or his talent. With him, what you see is usually what it is. For this alone, you have to give him hundred on hundred.
Over to Gen-Now’s sweetheart; yup, he has a huge draw at the box office and he knows it. Excerpts...
Is Alia Bhatt your best friend?
I wouldn’t say Alia is my best friend. My best friend is Aman Malhotra, who lives three buildings away from me. I met him at the age of two. And I have another friend called Ankit. So, if I take Alia’s name, they will get upset (smiles).
But she is definitely a very close friend of mine. Rarely do you form a close connection with someone you work with. But in her case, my relationship with her goes beyond work. We have formed a successful pair having begun with Student Of The Year (2012) and then Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014) and Badrinath Ki Dulhania (2017). We’re here today with Kalank that releases on April 17. Whether I work with her or not in the immediate future, it doesn’t matter. She and I share a bond.
Did you really mean it when you said earlier that Kalank is your last film together?
It was a joke. We won’t be working together for some time now. That’s the way life has it. Her forthcoming movies (Brahmastra, RRR, Insha Allah) and my next slate of projects (Coolie No 1, Street Dancer, Shashank Khaitan’s next), will take a lot of our individual time. In fact, the one I’m doing with Shashank (Khaitan), titled Rannbhoomi, will actually take a year to make.
Is Alia not in it?
The makers haven’t started the casting for Rannbhoomi yet. It’s got a lot of VFX and we’re trying to do something new in terms of technology as well. I don’t know when we (Alia and I) will work together next.
Considering we won’t see Alia and you together for a while now makes Kalank even more special, doesn’t it? There is a certain screen chemistry between the two of you.
I think it’s something that just kind of happened. Definitely, we did work hard on it, we knew we were on to something special. Alia and I knew people love watching us on the big screen. I think what they recognise is the drive that we both have towards our work, we don’t take it for granted. We are very passionate about what we do. It’s not that we meet, get along and that translates on screen. Of course, that’s also a part of the whole thing, but the other part is the hard work, the practice, the rehearsals and the focus. If we call each other, it’s about work. Whether it’s 8 am or 2 am, we’re discussing how we can do better. She is someone who is my equal as far as our collaborations go. I’m slightly arrogant when it comes to my films and knowledge of cinema. But she is superior to me in terms of craft. Drive-wise, I won’t say she is better, but she is equal. And she will also agree with this. It’s like a line in our song in Kalank, ‘Hazaaron mein kisi ko taqdeer aisi mili hai, Raanjha aur Heer jaisi.’ That kind of sums up our relationship, which translates into our onscreen chemistry.
The film also stars Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit, Aditya Roy Kapur, Kunal Kemmu and Sonakshi Sinha. Then, why are people rooting for just the two of you?
Honestly, this is an ensemble and the biggest I have done so far. It’s the biggest ensemble that people will get to see on screen in a long time. Also, I believe, everyone should root for Abhishek Varman’s hard work and dedication.
And I’m not saying this because he is the director. I’ve never worked with such an obsessive filmmaker, who wants to be involved in every aspect of the movie. Even if a picture or a line about it is being released, he wants to be involved. That’s the level of obsession Abhishek has as far as this film is concerned. Usually, when my movies release, I am the most obsessed and I can go to any lengths for it, but I must say Abhishek beats me.
He (Abhi) is like a tigress guarding her cub. He has put everything on the line for Kalank. There are so many things that have gone on in Abhishek’s life and there is so much he is going through. But he won’t be happy if I say anything about it. Trust me, he’s gone through hell and made this film. But his focus hasn’t faltered even for a second. He is my friend and I love him. Kalank is his baby and I’m protective about it.
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