Highlights
From Student of the Year to Bhediya, Varun Dhawan has evolved from being the audience and fan-favorite commercially successful Bollywood star to being labeled in Indian cinema as one of the finest versatile performers on the big screens. From his debut in Bollywood with the film Student of the Year to remarkable performances in films like Sui Dhaaga, Badlapur, and more, his ability to nail the performance with perfection each time, not only impresses audiences and fans but also garners rave reviews.
Journey to Indian Cinema:
Varun Dhawan is the son of legendary filmmaker David Dhawan and his wife Karuna Dhawan. Before entering Bollywood as an actor, Varun Dhawan completed his H.S.C. education at the reputed Indian college H.R. College of Commerce and Economics. After completing his H.S.C. in Mumbai, Varun Dhawan went to Nottingham Trent University in the UK and completed his degree in Business Studies. Before his big screen debut in 2012, Varun Dhawan started working as an Assistant Director (AD) to ace Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar on the filming sets of the Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol starrer iconic Hindi film My Name Is Khan.
What a question⁉️#Varun_dvn👏👑#VarunDhawan #Babyjhon #Aajtak pic.twitter.com/AT7lb94GcG
— Zeba Parveen (@VD96014) December 16, 2024
Varun Dhawan’s foundation and debut as an actor in Bollywood:
In 2012, Varun Dhawan finally made his dream debut in the Hindi film industry with the massy and classy coming-of-age, teenage-boarding-school-themed entertaining family drama film Student of the Year alongside Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotra. Directed by the Bollywood maverick Karan Johar, this film was the base and stepping stone for Varun Dhawan into Bollywood. Despite mixed reviews from Indian audiences and critics, the film became a critical and commercial global box office success and garnered around Rs 109 crores (domestic and worldwide collections). After the success of Student of the Year, there was no looking back for Varun as an actor.
From holding on tight to letting go… that’s what ‘ishq wala love’ is all about!🥺#12YearsOfSOTY #StudentOfTheYear #SOTY pic.twitter.com/zjQZo3meii
— Dharma Productions (@DharmaMovies) October 19, 2024
Varun Dhawan’s evolution from a novice Bollywood actor to an upcoming rising Bollywood star (2012 – 2014):
After Student of the Year, Varun Dhawan starred in the Hindi romantic-comedy-drama film Main Tera Hero, directed by his father and iconic Bollywood filmmaker David Dhawan and backed by Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Motion Pictures. The movie became a global box office success. International cinema audiences, Indian critics, and cinema lovers lauded Varun’s evolved and impressive performance as a flirtatious brat who gets involved in a love affair with three stunning women. The film grossed 780 million Indian rupees across the globe.
Later, he also wowed his growing fanbase and global audiences with a unique and stellar portrayal of Rakesh in the Shashank Khaitan-helmed Hindi rom-com drama film Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya (HSKD). Undoubtedly, his finesse-filled performance as Rakesh in the film won him critical acclaim and rave reviews from audiences and cinema buffs. HSKD also became another commercial global box office success by minting $13 million worldwide.
Humpty and his Dulhaniya 😍❤️@aliaa08 @Varun_dvn#Aliaa #AliaBhatt #AliaaBhatt #Alia #Varun #VarunDhawan #Varia #AliaBhattfans #HumptySharmaKiDulhaniya pic.twitter.com/ccw9Vr8xFs
— Alia Bhatt Fans Club (@AliaBhatfc) July 16, 2024
Varun Dhawan’s emergence into Hindi film cinema as an established star and actor (2015 – 18):
After giving back-to-back commercial hits with Main Tera Hero and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya, Varun Dhawan completely shocked Indian audiences, critics, and fans with a path-breaking performance in ace Indian filmmaker Sriram Raghavan helmed Hindi crime-action-thriller-drama film Badlapur. His nuanced and impressive performance of Raghu, who is a father who finally decides to avenge the murder of his deceased wife and son, won him impressive reviews from audiences, fans, and critics and also made him enter the genre of being a versatile performer who can essay not just rom-com characters but also intense and multilayered performances like Raghu in Badlapur.
Later on, Varun also appeared in the commercially hit dance-themed entertainer drama film ABCD 2, which earned $20 million worldwide, and the Shah Rukh Khan Kajol starrer Hindi action-thriller and rom-com-drama film Dilwale, which grossed $45 million globally and strengthened his foothold as an established commercial star and actor. Similarly, Dhawan also won the hearts of his fans and cinema audiences with captivating performances in commercially smash-hit films like Badrinath Ki Dulhania (2017), Dishoom (2016), and Judwaa (2017).
Varun Dhawan’s evolution from a commercial global star to a versatile performer (2018 – 2023):
Varun Dhawan wowed Indian film audiences, cinema enthusiasts, his global fanbase, and netizens with a ground-breaking and excellent performance as aimless hotel management student Dan in iconic Bollywood filmmaker Shoojit Sircar-helmed October. His nuanced and in-depth performance in the film received plaudits from the Indian audiences, fans, and his global fanbase. Initially Badlapur, and then with October, Varun Dhawan proved his capability to pull off out-of-the-box characters with relatively smooth ease and finesse.
Next, Varun Dhawan essayed the role of Mauji alongside Anushka Sharma in Dharma Productions banner’s Sui Dhaaga, helmed by Sharat Katariya. His immersive and multilayered character portrayal of Mauji, a normal man who started his small-scale clothing business with his wife Mamta (Anushka Sharma), got him remarkable reviews from Indian cinema lovers, fans, and critics.
After October and Sui Dhaaga, Varun Dhawan appeared in the Hindi pre-Independence-era period ensemble drama film Kalank. His brilliant and stellar portrayal of Zafar won the hearts of audiences and fans who finally termed him as an easily adaptable actor and performer who has always tried to go out of his comfort zone and successfully smashed stereotypes with such gripping narrative-driven roles in films within different unexplored genres. Despite the film being a flop, Varun Dhawan’s portrayal of Zafar left a lasting impression on cinemagoers and fans.
After Kalank, Varun Dhawan appeared in Street Dancer 3D. The film was slammed and panned by audiences and critics for a weak script and flat performances by the cast. After Street Dancer 3D and Kalank’s debacle, Varun Dhawan’s career suffered a massive setback. This fluctuation in his illustrious film career continued with Coolie No. 1, which also got backlash from OTT lovers.
After these films, Varun Dhawan appeared in the Amar-Kaushik-helmed werewolf-horror-comedy-drama film Bhediya in 2022. He essays the role of the arrogant road contractor Bhaskar, who gets bitten by a female werewolf named Dr. Anika, to protect the forest in Ziro from deforestation. But, later on, Dr. Anika falls in love with the human-turned-werewolf Bhaskar. Overall, Bhediya blended emotional turmoil, comedy, action sequences, horror elements, and immersive performances into a fascinating storyline. Undoubtedly, the film got Varun Dhawan exceptional reviews from cinema lovers who loved this film as his most intense, challenging, and trailblazing acting performance so far in the last decade.
Bhediya strongly established Varun into the league of being today’s Gen-Z star, who also has become a versatile performer on big screens. Bhediya became a box-office success and garnered Rs 90 crores in India. Bhediya is the second film of the Maddock Films supernatural universe.
Later, Varun Dhawan appeared in the Hindi rom-com ensemble drama film Jug Jugg Jeeyo in 2022 alongside Kiara Advani. Surprisingly, Varun’s unforgettable portrayal of Kukkoo was adorable, heartwarming, and well-balanced. The film’s plot revolves around an estranged couple who plans to divorce each other after Kukkoo’s sister Ginny’s wedding in Patiala.
But once the couple reaches Patiala, Kukkoo realizes how things are not what they seem to be from the outside. His exceptional performance as Kukkoo in Jug Jugg Jeeyo got unconditional love, rave reviews, and applause from audiences and fans. The film garnered Rs 156.75 crores, emerging as a moderately successful film at the box office.
After Bhediya and Jug Jugg Jeeyo, Varun Dhawan appeared in prolific filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari-helmed Hindi holocaust-themed action-romance-drama film Bawaal opposite Janhvi Kapoor. In the movie, he essayed the multilayered and in-depth role of History teacher Ajay Dixit, an image-conscious narcissist man who has built a fake reputation and has also tamed his stunning epileptic wife, Nisha. Despite mixed reviews, Varun’s acting portrayal in this riveting and gripping narrative-driven film got immense love from audiences and fans.
Varun Dhawan’s entry into the OTT landscape with the critically acclaimed Hindi action-crime-drama hit series Citadel, Honey Bunny:
After a somewhat fluctuating yet creatively fulfilling content phase in big-screen films, like other actors like Shahid Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapoor, Ananya Panday, and more, Varun Dhawan finally made his much-awaited digital debut on the booming OTT landscape with the Hindi language prequel action-crime-thriller spy drama series Citadel Honey Bunny that streamed on Amazon Prime Video India by October 2024. Directed by the ace and critically acclaimed director duo of Raj and DK Ndimoru, OTT enthusiasts and netizens loved the extraordinary performance of Varun as Bunny and Samantha Ruth Prabhu as Honey. The series became a massive hit in India, which got Varun Dhawan loads of rave reviews from fans and audiences.
About Varun Dhawan’s highly-awaited Hindi language action-cop-crime-thriller-entertaining drama film Baby John:
After a fluctuating and critically acclaimed career graph in the last few years, Varun Dhawan is making a massive comeback to the big screens with the highly-awaited Hindi cop-action-thriller-drama film Baby John. Directed by Kalees, the plot revolves around an initially honest police officer named Satya Verma, whose calm life is upended into devastation when his daughter Khushi dies in a brutal fire. These incidents compel him to turn into the deadly alter-ego avatar of Baby John, who is a scary man that becomes a one-man army and begins saving countless women and young girls from getting raped within the film.
The film promises to be a pulse-pounding cinematic extravaganza that will make audiences and fans feel all the emotions with high-octane action sequences and a riveting screenplay that is coupled with exemplary performances by Varun Dhawan, Wamiqa Gabbi, and Keerthy Suresh. The film is scheduled for a theatrical release by Wednesday, December 25, 2024.
Follow Us 