Was amazed to see my performance in October: Varun Dhawan grateful to Shoojit Sircar

Varun Dhawan, known for films like Judwaa 2 (2017) and Badlapur (2015), called his October director, Shoojit Sircar, a "genius".

"His style of working has not only made me grow as an actor but also changed me personally as a human being. My brief was simple, I had to play myself onscreen. I was amazed to see my own performance in the film and it wouldn't have been possible without him," said the son of filmmaker David Dhawan.

While newcomer Banita Sandhu said the filmmaker did not hold workshops for the actors as he wanted raw emotions.

"Shoojit Sir wanted raw emotions, hence there were no workshops held for us. This helped us to explore ourselves and bring out our emotions in the most natural manner," Sandhu said in a statement.

"I could not have asked for a better debut than October. Having worked with him in an ad before, Shoojit Sir is par excellence," she added.

October is set to be released on 13 April.