Varun Dhawan on 'Bhediya' and completing 10 years in Bollywood

Varun made his debut with the 2012 film "Student of the Year"

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Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon at the trailer launch of their upcoming Hindi film ‘Bhediya’ in Mumbai (Photo: AFP)

By PTI

Published: Thu 20 Oct 2022, 8:23 AM

Last updated: Thu 20 Oct 2022, 8:30 AM

There was a time when he was "arrogant" but now he is more responsible as an actor, said Bollywood star Varun Dhawan, who completed a decade in the movies on Wednesday.

Varun made his debut with the 2012 film Student of the Year, which also launched Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotra's careers in Bollywood.

The actor, whose last film JuggJug Jeeyo was a success, said he is enjoying the current phase of his career and is looking forward to the release of his upcoming horror comedy Bhediya.

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"I have always kept a ear out to hear what the audience is trying to tell me. It isn't that I have done superb work in every film... I am always trying to grow. There was a time when I had thought arrogantly... that everything is going fine, so why should I even care what someone is saying?

"Now, I think I am more responsible... Right now, I want to enjoy the success Bhediya will bring, what JuggJug Jeeyo brought. Because I heard the audience, I did a film like Bhediya, worked with a filmmaker like Amar Kaushik, a producer like Dinesh Vijan," Varun said at the trailer launch of Bhediya.

Bhediya follows Bhaskar (Varun), who transforms into a werewolf on every full moon night after he is bitten by a mythical wolf.

The movie is slated to release on November 25.

Bhediya will be a visual treat for the audience, said Varun.

"I feel as Indian cinema, we are ready for this and we won't settle for less," he added.

The actor also quipped he has been part of films that had "cringe worthy" VFX but lied about their quality during film promotions.

"When I look back, I can see there have been cringe worthy moments in the VFX. But I was not the one who did the VFX. As an actor, I can try and work with directors and producers who can bring about that change," he said.

Bhediya is the third offering in Vijan's horror-comedy universe after Stree (2018) and Roohi (2020).

While the film promises well-executed visuals, Kaushik said he didn't seek any inspiration from Hollywood to create the world of Bhediya.

"It is not that we have looked at Hollywood and made this. The writers had a seed of an idea about animals and then we kept improving. We wanted to make something that is of international standard, we took all the support to make it," the director said.

Varun further said he hopes the audience will appreciate his work in the film.

"The first thing Amar had told me is, you will not do comedy in this film because then people will not take you seriously. So, all the credit to Amar for the performance and hopefully, it lives up to his expectations.

"He has a high standard of performance. Before me, he has worked with Rajkummar Rao (Stree) and Ayushmann Khurrana (Bala). They are fine actors, I love them."

Kriti Sanon, who plays Dr Anika in Bhediya, praised Varun for his dedication. The actor duo previously co-starred in the 2015 film Dilwale.

"He has really worked very hard. He (Amar) is the first director who would say 'I don't want abs and if you bring it, I will not remove it'.

"The way he has worked hard, whether it was his look, body, animal flow... There is a journey of the character... he is just Bhediya all the time," Sanon added.

Abhishek Banerjee, Deepak Dobriyal, and Paalin Kabak round out the cast of Bhediya.

PTI

Published: Thu 20 Oct 2022, 8:23 AM

Last updated: Thu 20 Oct 2022, 8:30 AM

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