Republic Day 2020: Varun Dhawan talks all things India, says country is 'symbolic of warmth, kindness and love'

Varun Dhawan is currently celebrating the release of his latest film Street Dancer 3D alongside Shraddha Kapoor which is a dance film but has the essence of patriotism and love for the country. Varun, in a recent interview, spoke about Republic Day and the rituals he follows every year on this day. 

"Even now, I get up early on the Republic Day and watch the parade just as excitedly. That’s like a ritual in our house."

Opening up about his memories from this day when he was younger, Varun said, "My earliest memories are of me waking up early and watching the parade on Doordarshan. I vividly remember how dad [film director David Dhawan] would explain things to me. Then, a big, special memory is from last year when I travelled to the Wagah border on January 26 and performed a song for the jawans and about 10,000 other people. Just being able to chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ at Wagah was amazing."

Varun then went on to proudly say that he is a patriot and India is symbolic of warmth and kindness to him. "For me, India will always be symbolic of warmth, kindness and love. The ethos of our nation — what our parents have always taught us — such as being nice to everyone, treating everyone as equal and not judging anyone on the basis of skin colour, culture or race, are amazing. These things have been instilled in me. So, I am always going to be like that. There is a very nice ‘humane factor’ in our country which I don’t think many countries have. If any country goes through a problem, India is one of the first nations to offer a helping hand, and I think, that is the greatness of our nation."