Judwaa 2: A double treat for Varun Dhawan fans

The actor wants Bollywood to look inwards to get out of the rut the industry has found itself in of late. So will his new comedy Judwaa 2, the reboot of the 1997 original, starring Salman Khan, reverse the trend?

By Ambica Sachin

• Follow us on
• 
• 
• 

Published: Tue 26 Sep 2017, 5:17 PM

Last updated: Sat 30 Sep 2017, 4:43 PM

If you are a fan of Bollywood cinema, and we are talking here about the over-the-top comedies, with shoulders-twitching and hip-thrusting numbers thrown in for good measure, then the Varun Dhawan starrer Judwaa 2, out in UAE theatres tomorrow, is right up your street. If you happen to love the 1997 original Judwaa starring Salman Khan alongside Karisma Kapoor and Rambha, chances are you will like this too.
Even if you haven't seen the original, don't worry, Varun Dhawan is confident the reboot will appeal to all. Speaking over the phone from Mumbai to City Times last week, even the rains couldn't dampen Dhawan's enthusiasm.  
"Salman told me before we started the film: 'Remember you will have to win all the fans over because my fans might get upset.'," a task Dhawan does not seem fazed by. Varun is confident that Judwaa 2, a comedy revolving around the mistaken identities of twins Raja and Prem, will appeal to a whole new generation of cinemagoers. "There are so many kids who are 16 who haven't seen the original or heard the songs; for them Judwaa 2 is a new film."
Then as if to convince us further he points out the Hollywood parallel. "It happens all the time when older material in films comes back in different ways. Recently in Hollywood Stephen King's IT has released.. Don was remade; so was Devdas. So it is not a new thing. This way Judwaa 2 is a reboot and we have done it in a new way."

More fizz in Judwaa 2
Not that we needed much convincing. One look at the trailer and the old familiar tunes like Tan Tanna Tan and Unchi Hai Building are enough to pep up your mood.
It's precisely the kind of connect Varun Dhawan is banking on.
A cursory look at his Bollywood career makes it evident that he is the poster boy of hardcore commercial films - be it his debut movie in 2012, Student of the Year or Main Tera Hero (2014), Dilwale (2015), Dishoom (2016) etc. A given, some would say considering his father David Dhawan directed many 90s hit comedy films. And naturally the younger Dhawan (his older brother Rohit is also a director) is cut from the same cloth, a fact he has no qualms admitting.
"It is a conscious decision," he admits, about his choice of movies. "I wanted to appeal to the entire country. to the entire world. I didn't want to do a film that only five people watch."
So does that mean no art house movies for Varun? "I'll never say never," he quickly reverts.
"I will do it but the fact that I'm doing it will ensure it is not niche anyhow. It would then appeal to all. As an artist I want to entertain as many as I can. Though sometimes you may face criticism for that, it doesn't matter because you are appealing to a bigger majority. If you see an Aamir Khan movie today,  his films are the 'massiest'. Dangal is a heartland film that's made extremely well. So eventually you keep doing it and you will win people over. Sultan, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, these are all extremely mass films. So I want to do films that appeal to a large audience."
There's certainly no ambiguity here as far as film choices go.
A special project
As to what makes Judwaa 2 so special for him besides the fact that the original was one of his father David Dhawan's biggest hits when it came out in 1997, he asserts, "I'm such a massive fans of the original; I'm a very big Salman Khan fan, so it's a big deal for me to bring this film back."
"Also (it's relevant) in today's environment and the kind of films that we have had this year. Bollywood hasn't had a very good year in that sense. Not too many films have worked.
"This (comedy) is a genre that is our own that we have created. It's not something that has been inspired by the West."
Varun is not the first to talk about the Hindi-film fraternity's current low phase. Many actors and filmmakers are going public with the fact that 2017 has been a lean period for Bollywood so far.   
But Varun is not worried.
"Honestly, I have nothing to complain of since my movies have gone on to do really well this year. But eventually it is one fraternity and you want everyone to do well and you want to do better and grow."
So why are so many films failing to create an impact at the box-office?
"I think a lot of our movies are too influenced by the West. They are not so Indian anymore.
"So eventually when you make a film, it has to run. For everyone in the country. It can't just run for three cities or four - it has to be for people of all walks of life, all strata of life who can relate to it, who can enjoy that kind of humour.
"Elitist cinema will work only for a certain amount at the end of the day. It will please certain people but it is not going to bring in what you want.
"Also we are facing major competition from Netflix, Amazon, all these series are massive which are appealing to people in a big way.
"So it is time we keep looking inward - Baahubali is a big testimony of that you know."
As to whether rebooting a 90s hit will bring back cinema fans to the theatres remains to be seen, but it is somehow refreshing to listen to an actor who is adamant he only wants to entertain fans through his movies.  
"Judwaa 2 is a film through which we just want to put a smile on people's faces," he asserts. "It's not a film where you go and get a social message.. it's honestly just to put a smile on people's faces. To have fun, that's all. It's not preaching anything." Don't say you haven't been warned!
On Salman Khan
Varun Dhawan obviously had the original Judwaa star Salman Khan's blessings when it came to doing Judwaa 2. The camaraderie between the two was quite evident during their joint performance at the recent IIFA Awards 2017 in New Jersey. "It was Salman's idea to do Tan Tanna Tan at IIFA. He's really one of the coolest and most professional actors to work with. So it was so much fun performing with him on stage." We, for one, can't wait to watch the superstar's cameo in Judwaa 2.
'Forget nepotism, talent matters most'
It all started off innocently enough. During the IIFA Awards in New Jersey, a couple of months back, Varun Dhawan joked along with the event's hosts Karan Johar and Saif Ali Khan that "Nepotism Rocks" taking a dig at the fact that all three of them were there in the industry due to their lineage. It was nice to see Bollywood poking fun at itself. So it came as a surprise when a couple of weeks later Varun apologised on Twitter for the same remarks. Recently at the Jagran Cinema Summit in Mumbai the actor again took many aback when he said, "To a certain extent what she (Kangana) is saying is right," referring to the actress' comment about the inherent nepotism within Bollywood.
      Quiz him about it and it is evident he has had enough of the topic.
  "To be very honest I have said the same thing when I gave my first interview, that cinema is no one's birthright. But it's just something that's getting TRPs right now.," he avers.
Brushing aside any effect of the statement on the acting fraternity, he goes on to explain, "There has been a want and need for newer talent to enter the industry for a long time and that's not only in the course of actors but in the force of directors, writers, cameramen, technicians, producers as well. So we need newer blood in that sense in all fields and that's a want.
"We can keep saying it  - but actions speak louder than words."
"So our industry is changing and I'm going to do what I've always been doing. My next film is with Shoojit Sircar. In the film I'm working with a new actress - eventually for the audience they just want entertainment.
"Honestly it (all the talk about nepotism) doesn't matter - the larger picture is that the film industry should make better films, increase our footfalls, increase our audiences. And talent will always do that."
"Talent is what will get more footfalls. To me my quest is to work with the most talented people in the world, my quest is to make more films with talented people and that's the be all and end all. And that's all the audience sees. There is nothing else to see."
Varun on Jacqueline and Taapsee
While a lot has been written about and speculated upon the dynamics between the leading ladies of Judwaa 2, Taapsee Pannu and Jacqueline Fernandez, Varun Dhawan chose to play it safe. Quiz him about rumours of a rift between the duo and he laughs it off.  
"They are both two of the most talented people we have in our industry.
"They are very hardworking. Taapsee has her own style of acting, her own brand of cinema. She has done some amazing films before this. Jacqueline has been part of some of the biggest hits of Hindi cinema lately. So she is a very successful actor.
"So they both bring their own talent to the film and their characters have changed a lot in Judwaa 2 (from the original) - they play it very differently."
And here we were, hoping for a more candid comment straight from the horse's mouth!