I don't want to be a puppet

Varun Dhawan is sporting a grunge look these days. To say that it suits him, is an understatement. It's a look he was born for. He is currently shooting for Sriram Raghavan's Badlapur and is in a zone. Varun is giving it his all. It's one of those rare roles that takes away a lot from an actor (think Ranbir Kapoor in Rockstar).

Varun, who plays characters from three different generations in the film, says, "I love my job. I have done scary stuff like jumping from the sky without a harness and other dangerous stunts. While acting in Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, I consumed alcohol for a drunken scene... I am willing to go to any extent play a scene convincingly. In the process, I'm discovering new things about myself."

WANNA TRY EVERYTHING
He continues, "I like being challenged and going against the tide. People told me to do romcoms but I said I want to do the '90s type masala films as I grew up enjoying them. I will make it work. If you're not driven by something, you won't achieve your target. I don't want to be a puppet. When people say I can only do massy, commercial films, comic roles or romcoms, I want to prove them wrong. I refuse to be slotted. When they try to box me, it inspires me to push myself to do something different. Watch me in Sriram Raghavan's next. It's a extremely challenging, raw, edgy role and very special to me. It will not just push the boundaries - but tear them!

MY LIFE AS AN ACTOR
He further adds, "Cinema in today's times is more real. I want to do roles which allow me to do everything. An actor should do everything. If Anupam Kher can play an 80-year-old man in Saaransh when he was 27, what is impossible? That's the beauty of cinema." Varun not only wants to attempt all genres of cinema, he always watches every film he can, "I watch all kinds of films - from Arth and A Million Ways To Die In The West to serious documentaries. Acting is a joy for me. The biggest high you can get is the one that comes from doing a good scene. When you know you nailed it. When you know that the scene you have done will give goosebumps to the audience. An actor is always searching for that moment and it comes rarely - like a pearl in the ocean. That's what excites me."

And the parts he does not like? He smiles, "The worse side of being an actor is the paranoia, the insecurity -- dark side to this business. You can lose yourself to success and failure. It's very lonely out here. Everybody doesn't understand you nor can you be on the the same wavelength as they are..." he wanders off.

IT'S ALL WORK
The actor has gone straight into shooting his next film, not letting him enjoy the success of his last release. "Though Humpty Sharma... has done well, I never got to enjoy the success. I have come to know about how it has been received from what people tell me. Right now my days seem endless. I have not been able to take a break since the last three years. Everyone has enjoyed the success of HSKD but I haven't had time to enjoy it. Shashank Khaitan (the film's director) has gone to his hometown in Nashik, Alia has gone somewhere. I had to leave for Igatpuri immediately for Sriram's film. I know it's a success as people on the streets have been coming to me and telling me about it. I am called by my screen name in the towns and villages. When I am in Mumbai, life is a little easier. I wake up by 8.30-9 am, start rehearsing for ABCD2, work out, spend some time with my family, practise dance in Versova and then come home. Mentally exhausted go to sleep," he says.

THINGS PEOPLE SAY
He believes that people who don't know actors' lives make assumptions. "They don't know that it's a very difficult life or that actors don't look as handsome in real life as they look on screen. Most actors when they get up in the morning will scare you without make-up. Also, many of them have financial issues. Everything is not hunky-dory as people think it to be," he adds.

But there is also the good side. "After my success people have started taking me more seriously. My brother still makes fun of me but dad is happy and proud which is very important to me. Of course, dad also pressures me to constantly work harder as he knows this line is competitive and how things change overnight. So he keeps pushing me to work harder. He always tells me, 'Give every shot like it's your last' and that's been my principle in life," he says. Any other mantras? "People say many things - don't get married early, don't say this or do that but you must follow your heart, be yourself and you will know whether it's the right thing you have done," says the young actor.