EXPECTED BHEDIYA TO DO BETTER IN NUMBERS: VARUN DHAWAN

After completing 10 years in the industry as an actor, Varun Dhawan has mixed results for 2022. Both his films, Jugjugg Jeeyo and Bhediya, haven’t had the reception that one would expect with them before they were released. Jugjugg Jeeyo, directed by Raj Mehta, dealt with marriage, divorce and difficult family relationships, while Bhediya had him transform into a werewolf.

Starring Varun Dhawan as a werewolf, the creature comedy Bhediya was released in the theatres on November 25. The Amar Kaushik directorial struggled at the box office as Ajay Devgn starrer Drishyam 2, which hit the theatres a week earlier on November 18, remained the first choice of moviegoers. As per a Bollywood Hungama report, Bhediya collected Rs 62.33 crore in its threeweek run at the domestic box office. Now, Varun Dhawan has finally reacted to its box office performance in his recent interview saying that he expected the film to do better numbers than it did.

The Student of the Year actor insists that these are the films that fulfil him creatively nevertheless. Varun had a bit of a slowdown during the lock down when only the Coolie No. 1, directed by his father, filmmaker David Dhawan, was released on Prime Video in December 2020. In an interview, the actor 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.”

However, he did admit that he expected the horror comedy Bhediya to perform better than it did at the box office. Director Amar Kaushik’s previous outing in the genre, Stree (2018), had been an unexpected success.

Varun told in an interview, “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.”

Varun added, “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. The box office is important, but sometimes, I want to do movies because they are unmissable for the actor in me.”

Talking about Varun’s next film Bawaal, the Nitesh Tiwari directorial will release on April 7 next year. The film will pair the Badlapur actor with Janhvi Kapoor for the first time on the big screen. Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, the film has been shot across Europe and India.