David Dhawan reminisced that after the release of “Student of the Year,” Varun Dhawan received a compliment from Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan, who described him as a “lambi race ka ghoda” (a horse for the long race).
David Dhawan recently shared insights about his son, Varun Dhawan’s early days in the film industry, including the challenges he faced while filming “Student of the Year” alongside Sidharth Malhotra.
David recounted an encouraging moment when both Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan complimented Varun after the release of “Student of the Year,” calling him a “lambi race ka ghoda” (destined for greatness).
In an interview on Arbaaz Khan’s show, “The Invincibles Series,” David Dhawan admitted that he was deliberately harsh on Varun during their first film collaboration. At the time, Varun had just been launched by Karan Johar and had previously assisted Karan on “My Name is Khan.” David and his wife, Lalli Dhawan, initially wondered if Varun might be better suited for a bank job.
David shared, “He came back from abroad after studying, and I asked, ‘What do you want to do in life?’ Lalli said, ‘Everyone is taking up a bank job these days’. We never talked about films. All of a sudden, he went to Karan Johar and said, ‘I want to assist you’. Obviously, Karan knew the family very well, and they went abroad to work on My Name is Khan. The cameraman, Ravi Chandran, was the one who told Karan to keep an eye on him.”
When Varun expressed his desire to act, Karan Johar decided to launch him alongside Sidharth Malhotra. David recalled that Varun often felt insecure during the shoot, presumably due to Sidharth’s presence. David advised his son, “These things happen in two-hero films. Listen, my son, you’re damn good. Your confidence is something else. Don’t be afraid, take the leap.”
Despite Varun’s success, working with his father on “Main Tera Hero” proved challenging. Varun, accustomed to a different working style, struggled during the shoot. Arbaaz Khan mentioned that Varun even cried on the second day of filming.
David admitted to being tough on Varun, recalling an incident where Varun fell off a bike during a scene. “I joked, ‘Kahan se aaya hai yeh Karan Johar ka hero‘. He would become upset and complain to his brother that he was being humiliated in front of everyone,” David said.
David and Varun have since worked together on “Judwaa 2” and “Coolie No. 1,” both of which received critical panning. Despite the mixed reviews, the father-son duo continues to collaborate in the film industry.
