Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon’s pairing in Dilwale can be called a delightful one. Both the youngsters, who will be seen alongside Bollywood icons, Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, share a great camaraderie which one notices when Varun advises Kriti to skip a tricky question on finding her uncomfortable, or when Kriti gives Varun 10 on 10 for being the best friend and co-star she has had.
With Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani releasing on the same day, there are many clashes happening - Shah Rukh with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Shah Rukh with Deepika, but nobody is talking about your clash with Ranveer Singh...
Because I don’t think that we are clashing. I feel it’s a very old school of thought, and honestly its more media created. I mean, what goes on actually behind the scenes nobody knows. At least in my heart, I truly believe that ever since my first film released, I have always had some kind of competition and clash whether it was the cricket match, rains, Ramzan or some other festive occasion. I have never had a perfect release so I am quite used to such clashes in that sense. If you make a good film it will rock. Best of luck to Ranveer and the team of Bajirao Mastani. Hope their film also does well.
Kriti, this is your second film, and in many ways, the second film of your career is more important than the first to prove that one is not a flash in the pan.
Every film is important. Obviously, there is a bit of anxiety before the release of any film and that is going to happen every time with me. But the best part is that we are promoting the film till the release and we may do so even post release, you don’t get the time to feel as we are on a roll. Now we feel that the journey is coming to an end.
Varun: Also, we have seen the film in bits and pieces. Had we not seen anything we would have got nervous and anxious. We are feeling confident because we know that it’s a good film.
Both you guys are working with two iconic actors of Bollywood, Shah Rukh and Kajol...
Sometimes, when you work with an actor you look up to, he or she either lives up to the image or it goes down. For me, he has surpassed that image. The kind of human being he is, the kind of star he is and the kind of actor he is, he is truly beyond amazing.
Did you get intimidated by his presence and goof up your scenes?
Varun: No, in fact, I would goof up more with my lines with Kriti and not Shah Rukh. It would just happen not that she makes me nervous or anything.
Heard that both of you were a bit scared of Kajol...
Kriti: Frankly, I was a little nervous before my first scene with Kajol. I didn't know how she would be as a person. I didn't know how it would be to perform with her. She is a fabulous actor and it was a one-on-one scene with her. But then gradually things became normal and we opened up as we did the scene and some amazing photo shoots together.
Varun: I was not really scared of her in that sense. For that matter, I'm not scared of anybody. And when you are acting, you can't get scared as it might take away from your performance, you can't then be the character. It was just that I didn't know how she would be off-screen, but luckily she was damn cool and we got along really very well.
Were you guys worried about the screen time you will be getting?
Varun: In today’s day and age, actors don’t bother much about the screen time. We had got a script and a narration and we shot exactly for what was narrated to me, and at times even more. I am happy the way it has turned out.
Kriti: When you are doing a film which is on such a huge scale with so many huge actors then you are not really worried about the screen time. Other factors take precedence over such thoughts. And then, we all know about Rohit Shetty’s movies have an ensemble cast and that experience itself is amazing.
Well, the countdown has finally begun, how does it feel?
Varun: From the time we started promoting from December 1 till now it has been non-stop. At times we have been up for 24 hours, we have hardly got any sleep, we have been skipping our meals, we keep roaming from one place to another, one office to another. It has been very hectic but it’s all worth it because the kind of film it is. With so many ingredients in it, I'm sure it will appeal to the whole country.