In a recent interview, Varun Dhawan opened up about how Rajinikanth and Thalapathy Vijay were key influences behind his preparation for Baby John. Read on.
Varun Dhawan says he was asked to match Rajinikanth’s style while prepping for Baby John.
Varun Dhawan has grabbed attention for his recent film Baby John, helmed by director Atlee. The film is said to be an adaptation of Thalapathy Vijay’s cult classic Theri. Recently, the Bollywood star opened up about how he was asked to match the style of South icons Rajinikanth and Thalapathy Vijay for his role in the Kalees directorial.
Speaking with Shubhankar Mishra, Varun Dhawan addressed the inevitable comparisons people will make between him and Thalapathy Vijay. The actor shared that during the initial stages of preparation for his role in Baby John, the makers had shown him a presentation featuring iconic scenes and gestures of South icon Rajinikanth.
Varun elaborated on how he was made to understand the nuances of Rajinikanth’s gestures and incorporated them into his own performance.
He said, “Jab maine yeh film shuru ki thi, toh inhone ek PDF file banaya tha. File mein unhone saare Rajinikanth ke shots rakhe the. And all the antics that Rajinikanth sir does. Toh main yeh dekh raha tha. Phir unhone agle din mujhe ek aur presentation dikhaya ki yeh Rajinikanth karte hain, aur phir baaki heroes copy kaise kar sakte hain.”
(When I started this film, they made a PDF file that had all of Rajinikanth’s iconic shots. It included all the gestures that Rajinikanth sir does. I kept watching this. Then, the next day, they showed me another presentation where one side had what Rajinikanth does, and the other side showed how other actors could recreate his style.)
Explaining further, Varun highlighted how most actors, regardless of the region or film industry, have copied one or more gestures and styles of Rajinikanth throughout their careers.
He added how the Vettaiyan star’s iconic gestures have truly been evergreen, and many actors over the decades have only attempted to recreate them in their own unique ways.
Moving forward in the conversation, Varun also talked about Thalapathy Vijay, who he described as an actor he deeply admires. He mentioned that Vijay is one such star who has never copied styles from preceding actors and has always maintained his own distinct aura.
Varun Dhawan said, “See, Thalapathy Vijay is a great actor. I am a very big fan of his, and maine bohot saari filmein dekhi hain unki.” (I have seen many of his movies.)
For the unversed, Baby John is set to release on December 25, coinciding with Christmas. The film also marks South actress Keerthy Suresh’s Hindi debut.
