Although fairly new to the movie game, Varun Dhawan is proving himself to be flexible, going beyond the call of duty as an actor. Bollywood Hungama’s Joginder Tuteja reports...
WITH only one film to his credit, actor Varun Dhawan has revealed his versatile side while working on his latest films, Main Tera Hero and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania.
The actor was shooting for his father David Dhawan’s 43rd, film Main Tera Hero in Bangkok – with Nargis Fakhri and Ileana D’Cruz – when he turned choreographer for a song that is said to be a contemporary version of the bhajan Bholenath.
The actor said his father had asked him just to set the mood for the dance, but Varun (pictured) – who wasn’t prepared for the camera – ended up creating interesting steps for it.
This was not the first time he had made use of his many talents.
During shooting for Dharma’s Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, Varun ended up writing and rapping a song for the film. The song is being choreographed by Remo D’Souza.
The actor said the song was inspired by his experiences at school, and his love for sport and chasing girls.
With Main Tera Hero, released on April 4, the producers, Balaji, have made much of the fact that Varun is the youngest actor yet to have played the hero in one of his father’s films.
Said Varun: “As a son, I cannot be more proud… Honestly, I am seeing all this euphoria around the film more as a David Dhawan fan than as his son, or least of all, as an actor of the film.
“When a film has the name David Dhawan attached to it, it doesn’t matter who is the hero, whether it is me or anyone else.
“I was a fan of his brand of cinema while growing up. Now with the kind of mad response that the Main Tera Hero promotion alone has fetched, I have realised the reach of his cinema.”
At last count, the father-son combination had garnered a couple of million views of their promo – in the record time of just a week.
“This was unprecedented,” says a Bollywood observer.
“Typically, even films featuring superstars take time to find such visibility.
“The numbers here are the kind that films like Dhoom 3 and Krrish 3 gathered on their arrival.
“On the other hand, Main Tera Hero features Varun Dhawan, who is just one film old.
“Yes, he is on the way to becoming a star, but I guess the biggest star here is David Dhawan. It is his name that has made people sit up and notice again what he is capable of.”
Varun isn’t new to adulation, as was witnessed during Karan Johar’s Student of the Year.
Varun is glad his first film as a solo hero has gained attention so quickly.
He says: “Hopefully, the current generation – which hasn’t seen the kinds of crazes that dad’s films used to generate in the 1990s – will see the range David Dhawan has. He doesn’t have to prove himself to anyone, but still for someone who today is a director with the longest standing, right from the 1980s, it is our chance to see him at his vibrant best.”
In Main Tera Hero the love story begins with the mischievous, clever, charming, daredevil hero (Varun) who falls in love with Sunaina (D’Cruz).
Can a hero’s love story be complete without a villain? Enter Angad (Arunoday Singh) the corrupt cop, who wants to force Sunaina to marry him.
Added to the mix is Ayesha (Fakhri) who is madly in love with the hero.
As the romantic drama unfolds, it takes our hero from the lush and misty hill stations of Ooty, to a fun college campus in Bangalore, and then to a beautiful mansion in gorgeous Thailand. – bollywoodhungama.com
Maan Karate soundtrack scores with top film-maker
Maan Karate opened on Friday with a buzz around many aspects of the film. In this report OneIndia.in’s Ramchander takes a look at the music behind the movie…
ANIRUDH Ravichander considers himself lucky to have received appreciation from one of the top film-makers in India, maverick director Shankar.
It was at the audio launch function of the Tamil flick, Maan Karate, that Shankar said he was a fan of Ravichander.
The Kolaveri di hitmaker’s songs have impressed him and the film-maker said the musician’s youthful composition would take him to new heights.
Of all his albums, the Endhiran creator likes Vanakkam Chennai most.
Shankar pointed out that, like AR Rahman, Ravichander was keen to learn.
He recalled how Rahman used to take out time to learn Hindustani music during his busy schedule, and said he was aware that Ravichander was attending classical music classes.
He said this would fine-tune the Maan Karate music director’s personality.
Ravichander was elated by the director’s praise. Director AR Murugadoss, actor Sivakarthikeyan and many others have also praised the young composer, while his Maan Karate album has had a positive audience response.
Maan Karate is an Tamil comedy romance, with direction by Murugadoss’s long-time associate, Thiru Kumaran.
The movie stars Sivakarthikeyan, Hansika Motwani, Vamsi Krishna and the screenplay is by Murgadoss.
The film, released on April 4, was shot in Chennai, Bangalore and Athirapally. A couple of songs were shot in Malta.
The name was taken from dialogue in Gemini (2002), where Dhamu explains that Maan Karate refers to how a deer runs away when in danger.
As the title for Shankar’s film, it refers to the tendency of the hero, Sivakarthikeyan, to run for cover whenever there is a problem in his life.
Debutante art director S Rajamohan has garnered praise from critics and fellow artists for the huge set and grand feel of this fantasy movie.
Meanwhile, Sivakarthikeyan has been signed for another film.
It is to be directed by Ponram – with whom he worked last year on the hit Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam.
The buzz is that the title of their latest film together is Rajini Murugan.
The flick will be produced by N Lingusamy under the banner of the Thirupathi Brothers.
It is understood that Rajini Murugan is a comedy and that the Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam – music director D Imman and cinematographer Balasubramaniem – will be working on it.
Apparently the movie bosses have approached Nazriya Nazim, who was last seen in Kollywood (Kodambakkam) as the female lead in Naiyaandi. We have not heard whether she has been signed up for the project.
Comedian Soori is the latest inclusion in the cast. – Ramchander, oneindia.in