Varun Dhawan Expected ‘Bhediya’ To Do Numbers Than It Did, Says ‘It Tells You To Try And Do Better’

Varun Dhawan has completed 10 years in the industry as an actor, but this year, he had mixed results for his films, ‘Jugjugg Jeeyo’ and ‘Bhediya’. They did decent business but did not get the reception that one would expect with them before they were released. 

In an interview with Mid-Day, the actor insisted that while the films fulfilled him creatively, he did witness a slowdown during the lockdown when only the ‘Coolie No. 1’, directed by his father, filmmaker David Dhawan, premiered on Prime Video in December 2020. 

Varun said, "When the lockdown happened, I hit a roadblock. I was burnt out. I felt my choices have to be films that I am [creatively] satisfied with. [The reason to do them] should not be that I have dates available." He added, "I waited a long time to sign ‘Jugjugg Jeeyo’, ‘Bhediya’, and Nitesh Tiwari's ‘Bawaal’. So, 2022 has been one of the most satisfying years creatively. As an actor, I am the proudest of these three films." 

He further admitted that he expected the horror comedy ‘Bhediya’ to perform better, considering Amar Kaushik's previous outing in the genre, ‘Stree’ (2018), proved to be an unexpected success. Varun added, "It has been such a strange year, [with films] trying to get people back to theatres. I expected Bhediya to do [better box-office] numbers than it did. Having said that, I am grateful that people have seen the film in cinemas, and its [collection] is higher than that of many. It tells you that you should try and do better." 

After making his debut in Karan Johar's ‘Student Of The Year’ (2012) with Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotra, Varun starred in Sriram Raghavan's ‘Badlapur’ (2015) and Shoojit Sircar's ‘October’ (2018). 

Talking about his unconventional choices, he said, "Honestly, when I have to cut down my price to do these films, I will do it because a film calls out to [the artiste] in you. Similarly, when I have to do a ‘Bhediya’, or movies that have a larger vision, I'll make it in a certain way. My approach is simple - we should make a good film, and the producer should not lose money. Box office is important, but sometimes, I want to do movies because they are unmissable for the actor in me."