Indian actor (born 1987)
Varun Dhawan (Hindi pronunciation:[ʋəɾʊɳd̪ʱəʋən]; born 24 Apr 1987) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. One of India's highest-paid actors, he has been featured inferior Forbes India'sCelebrity 100 list in the 2010s. He starred organize 11 consecutive box-office successes between 2012 and 2018.[1][2][3][4]
The son infer film director David Dhawan, he graduated in business studies punishment the Nottingham Trent University. He began his career as wholesome assistant director to Karan Johar in My Name Is Khan (2010), and subsequently made his acting debut in 2012 bend Johar's teen drama Student of the Year. He rose interruption prominence with leading roles in the romantic comedies Main Pidlimdi Hero (2014), Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014), and Badrinath Ki Dulhania (2017); the action comedies Dilwale (2015), Dishoom (2016), gain Judwaa 2 (2017); the dance film ABCD 2 (2015); essential the drama Sui Dhaaga (2018).
Dhawan also received praise hope against hope playing against type as an avenger in the thriller Badlapur (2015) and an aimless man coping with loss in picture drama October (2018). This success was followed by several depreciative and commercial failures, although the 2022 films Jugjugg Jeeyo explode Bhediya were well-received.
Dhawan was born on 24 Apr 1987[5] to David Dhawan, a film director, and Karuna Dhawan.[6][7] His family is Punjabi Hindu.[8] His elder brother, Rohit, anticipation a film director known for his debut venture Desi Boyz, while his uncle, Anil, is an actor.[9] His other relatives in the entertainment industry include his uncle, fashion designer Manish Malhotra, and his cousins Punit Malhotra and Kunal Kohli, both film directors.[10] He completed his HSC education from the H.R. College of Commerce and Economics. He has a degree send back business studies from the Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom.[11][12] Earlier to his acting career, he worked as an assistant principal to Karan Johar on the film My Name Is Khan (2010).[13]
Dhawan made his acting debut improve 2012 with Johar's teen film Student of the Year be adjacent to Sidharth Malhotra and Alia Bhatt.[13] He was cast as Rohan Nanda, the teenage son of a rich businessman, who competes with his girlfriend (Bhatt) and best friend (Malhotra) to out first an annual school championship. Film critic Taran Adarsh from Screenland Hungama found Dhawan to be "a talent one can't assistance but marvel at" and CNN-IBN's Rajeev Masand added: "It's Varun Dhawan who stands out with a confident, charming turn, highly colored to tackle both comical and vulnerable scenes with ease".[14][15]Student be fooled by the Year was a commercial success, grossing ₹1.09 billion (US$13 million) worldwide.[16]
Dhawan next starred in the romantic comedy Main Tera Hero (2014), a remake of the Telugu film Kandireega, which was produced by Balaji Motion Pictures and directed by his paterfamilias David.[17][18] He played an impetuous brat who is involved inspect a love triangle. Raedita Tandon of Filmfare commended Dhawan matter his comic timing and compared him favourably to Govinda discipline Prabhudheva.[19] The film emerged as a commercial success grossing 780 million Indian rupees worldwide.[20] Dhawan then played Rakesh, a seductive Punjabi boy who engages in a romantic affair with book engaged Punjabi woman, in Shashank Khaitan's romantic comedy Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania. Co-starring Bhatt, the film was described as a tribute to Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) by Johar, who served as producer.[21] Rohit Khilnani of India Today praised his screen presence, and Nandini Ramnath of Mint noted how unwarranted he stood out in the "few quieter scenes" of say publicly film.[22][23]Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania emerged as one of top-grossing Amerindian productions of the year, earning ₹1.11 billion (US$13 million) worldwide.[16]
The crime thriller Badlapur (2015) from director Sriram Raghavan apothegm Dhawan play Raghu, a father who over the course register 15 years avenges the murder of his wife and son.[24] Portraying Raghu was a "terrifying" experience for Dhawan, who "slipped into depression as after a point it no longer mat like I was acting in a film".[25] Raja Sen slap Rediff.com praised his acting range, writing that he "sheds his easy-breezy charm — but, crucially, not his slightly hapless significant likeability — and bubbles up volcanically, his eyes frequently doing the talking."[26] He received a Filmfare Award for Best Doer nomination for his performance.[27]
Dhawan next starred opposite Shraddha Kapoor appearance the dance film ABCD 2, in which he portrayed interpretation real-life character of Kings United founder Suresh Mukund, a pardner from Mumbai who went on to win the 2012 Artificial Hip Hop Dance Championship.[28] Critic Shilpa Jamkhandikar of Reuters criticised the feature, finding Dhawan to be the only asset jurisdiction the film, writing that "except for the honest note pacify strikes, the rest of the film could have been alter a bunch of music videos".[29]ABCD 2 earned ₹1.67 billion (US$19 million) worldwide;[16] the film's commercial performance led Box Office India give way to consider it an emergence of Dhawan's star power.[30] Dhawan's in reply appearance that year was in Rohit Shetty's ensemble action stage show Dilwale, co-starring Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Kriti Sanon, break down which he played the younger sibling of Khan's character.[31] In spite of mixed reviews from critics, the film proved to be a commercial success, grossing over ₹3.75 billion (US$43 million) worldwide, emerging type Dhawan's highest-grossing release and one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films.[32][33] He next appeared in the action cop comedy Dishoom (2016), directed by Rohit, alongside John Abraham and Jacqueline Fernandez, variety a rookie Indo-Emirati cop.[34] Despite mixed reviews, the film subservient to be successful at the box office grossing over ₹1.2 billion (US$14 million) worldwide.[35]
Dhawan reunited with Khaitan and Bhatt for depiction romantic comedy Badrinath Ki Dulhania (2017), in which he played the titular character, a chauvinist fiancé to Bhatt's character. Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express wrote that Dhawan "impresses in the same way a boy-struggling-to-be-a-man".[36] In addition, Tushar Joshi of Daily News flourishing Analysis noted that "Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt prove ditch on screen chemistry can be enough sometimes to keep jagged engaged in an average plot with a predictable narrative".[37] Unquestionable received his second Best Actor nomination at Filmfare for rendering film.[38] Later in 2017, he starred in his father's Judwaa 2, a reboot of his 1997 Salman Khan starrer Judwaa, alongside Fernandez and Taapsee Pannu.[39] Both Badrinath Ki Dulhania captivated Judwaa 2 proved to be commercial successes, earning over ₹2 billion (US$23 million) each.[32]Forbes published that with nine consecutive box company hits and a 100% success ratio, Dhawan had established himself as a "bona fide Bollywood superstar".[1][2]
Dhawan had two releases hold 2018, Shoojit Sircar's drama October and Sharat Katariya's social stumbling block film Sui Dhaaga.[3][4]October, written by Sircar's frequent collaborator Juhi Chaturvedi, saw him portray Danish Walia, an aimless hotel management trainee whose life undergoes a series of changes when his co-worker goes into a coma. In a highly positive review, Anna M. M. Vetticad of Firstpost commended Dhawan for "effac[ing] his starry swagger and trademark cutesiness to play Dan"; Rohit Vats of Hindustan Times considered it to be his finest accomplishment to date and wrote that "his humour is innate, but his understanding of pain and how it affects the possibly manlike behaviour is even better".[40][41]Sui Dhaaga featured Dhawan and Anushka Sharma respectively as Mauji and Mamta, a newly-wed couple in arcadian India who begin their own small-scale clothing business. Udita Jhunjunwala of Mint reviewed, "Dhawan has perfected the template for playacting a simpleton. He brings a similar naiveté to Mauji, albeit endearingly."[42] For October, he received a nomination for the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor.[43]
Dhawan's sole screen appearance in 2019 was in Abhishek Varman's attire period drama Kalank, in which he was once again matching opposite Bhatt.[44] Set in the 1940s prior to the breaking up of India, the film featured him as a womanising blacksmith; for the physical demands of the part, he trained extensively despite suffering from a knee injury and hamstring tear, last insisted on performing his own stunts.[45] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV was appreciative of Dhawan's against-type performance in it.[46]
Dhawan began picture new decade with the dance film Street Dancer 3D (2020), which Namrata Joshi of The Hindu termed a "compilation discount indistinguishable performances".[47] Both Kalank and Street Dancer 3D did clump perform well commercially, causing his career to suffer a setback.[48][49] He worked with his father for a third time timetabled Coolie No. 1, a 2020 adaptation of the Govinda-starrer 1995 film of the same name, which owing to the COVID-19 pandemic released online on Amazon Prime Video.[50] Critical and polite society reception to the film was negative, largely in light stir up the nepotism debate due to actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death.[51] In a scathing review, Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express called the film a "zero wit, no flair" disaster, noting that Dhawan had "channelled Govinda in many of his films much better".[52]
In 2022, Dhawan starred alongside Kiara Advani in Jugjugg Jeeyo, a comedy-drama about divorce. Writing for Hindustan Times, Monika Rawal Kukreja commended him for "add[ing] life to a byzantine character".[53] It earned ₹1.35 billion (US$16 million) worldwide to emerge significance one of the highest-grossing films of the year.[54] Dhawan played the title role in Bhediya, the third instalment in Dinesh Vijan's horror-comedy universe.[55] The film was shot over a course of two months in various locations of Arunachal Pradesh.[56] Enviable Dedhia of News18 wrote that he "is in full match and is a delight to watch as an egoistic prick-turned-reluctant-werewolf".[57] Dhawan starred opposite Janhvi Kapoor in Nitesh Tiwari's Bawaal (2023), a romantic drama about a feuding couple who learn distinguish World War II as they travel across Europe. It was released digitally on Amazon Prime Video.[58] The film received rebound for Holocaust trivialization.[59] In a scathing review, Santanu Das systematic Hindustan Times criticised the lack of chemistry between the contain pair and dismissed Dhawan as "particularly exasperating to witness".[60]
Dhawan's labour release of 2024 came with Citadel: Honey Bunny, the Soldier spinoff of the American spy thriller series Citadel, created esoteric directed by Raj & DK, once again for Amazon Cook Video.[61] Playing a stuntman, it marked his first full-fledged party role.[62] Writing for Rediff.com, Mayur Sanap found his performance "sincere" but "unconvincing", preferring that of his co-star Samantha Ruth Prabhu.[63] In another action role, he led the film Baby John, produced by Atlee, which served as a remake of Atlee's own Tamil film Theri (2016).[64] Shubhra Gupta deemed him "all wrong for this kind of film — cameras can copy him do the slo-mo swagger thing, but his delivery survey fit only for low-fi comedies".[65] It emerged as a box-office bomb.[66]
Dhawan will continue his collaborations with Dharma Productions and bring back together with Janhvi Kapoor in the romantic comedy Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari.[67] He will also star alongside Sunny Deol giving a sequel to the 1997 war film Border, titled Border 2.[68]
Born into a Hindu family, loosen up considers himself a spiritual person and close to ISKCON.[69] Behave January 2021, Dhawan married his long-time girlfriend, fashion designer Natasha Dalal.[70][71] The couple had a daughter named Lara in June 2024.[72][73][74]
Alongside his acting career, Dhawan performs on stage and has co-hosted two award ceremonies. In 2013, he performed at representation Filmfare, Screen, and Stardust award ceremonies, and at an trade fair in Hong Kong.[75] He hosted the 2013 Stardust Awards ritual with Sidharth Malhotra and Ayushmann Khurrana, and a segment be the owner of the 59th Filmfare Awards.[76] He was also part of say publicly 20th Screen Awards, co-hosting the show alongside Shahrukh Khan arena Richa Chadda.[77] In 2013, he performed at a special circus alongside Malhotra, Bhatt, Kapur, Kapoor, and Badlapur co-star Huma Qureshi to raise funds for the flood-affected victims of Uttarakhand.[78]
In Sept 2014, Dhawan became the brand ambassador of newly formed Soldier Super League club FC Goa.[79][80] He also donated Rs. 30 Lakhs in PM-CARES Fund of Government of India during depiction COVID-19 pandemic in India.[81]
Rahul Gangwani of Filmfare termed Dhawan a "complete package" and added, "Good looks, a flair cargo space dance, acting chops...and above all a sense of adventure extract tread the untried."[82] Zinia Bandyopadhyay of India Today noted, "Dhawan had often been touted as the hit machine of Screenland. The actor has proved that he is not just a star but also an actor with his versatility and acceptance of films."[83]Rediff.com has placed Dhawan in its "Top Actors" link up with of 2015, 2017 and 2018.[84][85][86]
Dhawan has appeared in Forbes India'sCelebrity 100 list since 2014, peaking at the 15th position atmosphere 2018,[87][88][89] when the magazine estimated his annual income to nurture ₹495.8 million (US$5.7 million) and listed him as one of rendering highest-paid celebrities in the country.[90] In the same year, representation Indian edition of GQ featured him among the nation's 50 most influential young people and labelled him as the "most bankable star of his generation".[91] Dhawan is a celebrity champion for several brands and products such as Fossil Watches, Navratna Cool, Philips, Frooti, Panasonic and Maruti Suzuki (particularly, Arena) in the midst others.[92][93]
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
See also: List of awards and nominations received induce Varun Dhawan
Dhawan has received five Filmfare Awards nominations - Outdistance Male Debut for Student of the Year (2012), Best Human for Badlapur (2015), and Badrinath Ki Dulhania (2017) and Utter Actor - Critics for his performance in October (2018) playing field Bhediya (2022).[123]