David Dhawan has directed his son Varun again, this time in Judwaa 2, a remake of his own Salman Khan-starrer comedy film from 1997. Dhawan has often drawn comparisons between Khan and Govinda. Speaking to TV journalist Rajeev Masand, the father and son shared interesting tales. Prominent among them was Varun revealing that Khan had never really given him any advice on how to approach the double role.
Asked about Khan's reaction to Judwaa 2 and whether he gave any inputs, Varun said, "He was really cool about it. In terms of acting, he has never given me any advice. Not for Judwaa, but earlier, he had said you are very energetic and you should calm down. He said be prepared for a little criticism from his own fans."
In another startling revelation, Dhawan disclosed that he was initially offered the role that Nawazuddin Siddiqui played in Sriram Raghavan's Badlapur (2015).
"I was offered Nawaz's role and Sriram Raghavan wanted Nawaz to play my character," he said. "But then he wasn't sure whether I will be able to do it. I was keen to play that part, keen to age."
David Dhawan said Varun's character Raghu was appreciated more than Siddiqui's Liak. While he appreciated his son's performance, the filmmaker admitted he was concerned about the impact the grey character would have on Varun's career.
"I was very scared," David Dhawan said. "He had this beard for long. I used to ask my wife, when will he shave? He used to come home and not even talk to us. I got worried. He had entered the film industry [only recently] and got into a different type of cinema.”
Judwaa 2 is set to be released on 29 September.