Young
actor
Varun
Dhawan,
whose
fan
following
seems
to
have
increased
following
his
latest
release
Main
Tera
Hero,
wants
to
avoid
calling
himself
a
'star'.
He
says
that
establishing
a
connect
with
the
audience
will
always
be
of
importance
for
him.
"I
wouldn't
call
myself
a
star.
Not
now,
not
ever," said
Varun,
who
made
his
debut
with
'Student
Of
The
Year'.
Excerpts
from
the
interview:
Q.
Main
Tera
Hero
(MTH)
is
a
success
and
you
now
seem
to
have
fans
in
all
age
groups?
A.
Very
honestly,
the
hero
in
this
film
is
my
father
David
Dhawan.
We
promoted
the
film
like
crazy.
Nowadays,
the
pressure's
on
an
actor
on
how
to
market
a
film
is
excruciating.
There
wasn't
so
much
pressure
to
promote
my
first
film
'Student
Of
The
Year'.
Dharma
Productions
was
the
hero
of
that
film
and
Karan
Johar
was
there
with
the
three
of
us
-
Sidharth
Malhotra,
Alia
Bhatt
and
me
to
promote
the
film.
Karan
made
sure
everything
went
right.
With
MTH,
the
pressure
was
fully
on
me
to
sell
the
film
to
the
audience.
Q.
Couldn't
have
been
an
easy
place
to
be
in?
A.
There
were
times
when
I
had
to
force
my
eyelids
apart.
But
when
I
saw
those
expectant
crowds
at
the
promotional
events
just
waiting
for
a
glimpse
of
the
actors,
one
couldn't
go
in
front
of
them
all
droopy
and
tired.
Q.
The
hallmark
of
a
true
star?
A.
I
wouldn't
call
myself
a
star.
Not
now,
not
ever.
I'm
here
because
I
love
the
movies.
I
am
not
here
to
make
money.
By
god's
grace
I
don't
have
to
worry
about
my
next
4,000
meals.
At
the
same
time,
I
am
not
here
to
do
charity
either.
But
my
relationship
with
the
audience
will
always
be
more
important
than
all
other
considerations.
I've
to
make
sure
of
that.
Q.
You
seem
to
have
established
the
same
kind
of
connect
with
the
audience
as
Govinda
did
in
your
father's
films.
Does
that
comparison
annoy
you?
A.
Not
at
all.
If
anything,
it
is
unfair
to
an
actor
of
Govinda's
stature
and
durability.
At
the
same
time,
I
do
realise
that
all
newcomers
are
compared
with
established
actors.
And
because
MTH
is
a
full-on
David
Dhawan
film,
the
kind
that
my
father
did
with
Govinda,
the
comparisons
are
inevitable.
MTH
is
very
different
from
its
source
of
origin
-
the
Telugu
film
'Kandireega'.
The
style
of
storytelling
and
packaging
is
full-on
David
Dhawan.
Q.
You've
caught
the
flavour
of
David
Dhawan's
cinema
bang-on?
A.
I
had
to.
Otherwise
I'd
have
been
thrown
out
of
the
film.
He
was
very
strict
with
me
during
the
shooting.
Out
of
the
60
days
that
we
shot
MTH,
I
was
on
tenterhooks
for
45
days.
Q.
Did
that
bother
you
initially?
A.
Yes,
it
did.
Not
that
I
expected
to
be
pampered.
But
I
expected
to
be
treated
normally.
But
he
was
being
extra-strict
with
me.
Now
when
I
see
the
film,
I
realize
why
he
behaved
the
way
he
did.
My
father
has
42
films
behind
him.
He
knew
exactly
what
he
was
doing
and
why
he
needed
to
make
sure
that
I
worked
harder
than
all
his
other
heroes.
He
just
threw
me
in
the
deep
end
of
the
water
and
let
me
learn
to
swim
my
way
out.
Either
I
swam
or
I
drowned.
Q.
You
come
from
a
totally
filmy
background.
Is
that
an
advantage?
A.
I
am
not
too
sure.
Today
the
sur
(tone)
of
cinema
has
changed
beyond
recognition.
Things
are
gradually
changing.
We
don't
know
whether
the
future
of
Indian
cinema
is
going
to
be
Dabangg,
Rowdy
Rathore
and
MTH
or
is
it
going
to
be
Queen
and
The
Lunchbox...we
don't
know.
Q.
Which
cinema
would
you
rather
be
part
of?
A.
I
am
greedy.
I
want
to
do
both.
The
sur
of
acting
is
so
different
in
MTH
and
Queen.
I
am
doing
the
more
naturalistic
sur
in
Humpty
Sharma
Ki
Dulhaniya.
It's
a
very
real
film.I
play
a
working-class
Punjabi
guy.I
feel
very
thrilled
about
this
film.
I
feel
as
an
actor
I
should
explore
everything
there
is
to
explore.
I
am
consciously
choosing
roles
that
are
different
from
one
another.
Q.
How
has
Main
Tera
Hero
changed
you
as
an
actor?
A.
I
am
exhausted.
But
satisfied.
I
feel
sapped
out.
I
can't
do
another
films
like
MTH
for
the
next
two
years.
I
did
this
film
from
the
heart.
We
had
a
huge
lot
of
improvisation
on
the
sets.
We
were
constantly
adding,
revising,
polishing.
To
me,
this
is
what
commercial
Hindi
cinema
is
all
about.
After
release,
when
I
went
to
the
theatre,
this
elderly
gentleman
came
and
put
his
hand
on
my
head
and
blessed
me.
Then
his
children
came
and
told
me
they
liked
the
film.
For
me,
that
was
the
reward
for
all
the
hard
work.
IANS