I’ve never shied away from unequivocally stating that Varun Dhawan is my favorite Bollywood star. His versatility as a thespian and his commendable ability to curate the best scripts in India not only allow him to free himself from the shackles of his “nepo baby” label, but it also makes him a cut above the rest of his way less successful contemporaries.
He’s also my favorite Bollywood actor because he played That Thing You Do! (a song that I have an unhealthy attachment to) at his sangeet. But I digress. Here’s a definitive ranking of his best films.
5. JugJugg Jeeyo (dir: Raj Mehta)
Dhawan and a dream cast made up of Anil Kapoor, Neetu Singh, Manish Paul and Kiara Advani resurrected the long unalived Bollywood family drama subgenre with JugJugg Jeeyo. The film struck a chord with a post COVID Indian audience that was craving a film that is comfortably familiar yet subtly progressive.
4. Badlapur (dir: Sriram Raghavan)
If his debut film, Student of the Year, cemented Dhawan as one of India’s Sexiest Men Alive then Badlapur solidified him as a serious thespian. The macabre revenge thriller, which sees Dhawan going on a gory rampage to try and avenge his wife’s murder (typical Sriram Raghavan fare), shocked both Indian civilians and film critics alike who foolishly pigeonholed the actor as a Chocolate Boy Next Door.
3. October (dir: Shoojit Sircar)
It was clear from the get-go that Dhawan wanted to prove his mettle as a versatile actor early on in his career. So, instead of continuing his winning streak of frothy Dharma fare and goofy Govinda-esque comedies, he chooses to do an esoteric, slow-paced indie picture about the pains of mourning. Shoojit Sircar’s October is a delicate picture that is pure in its thought and mise-en-scene with a performance by Dhawan that lingers in the mind.
2. Bhediya (dir: Amar Kaushik)
Like Stree, its genre-bending predecessor, Bhediya, a film about a werewolf in rural India, nimbly juggles a comedic script, an ever-gothic setting and the Indian zeitgeist. While Stree took on violence against women in India, Bhediya sheds a much-needed light on corporate-driven Indian deforestation. Ever the acting chameleon, Dhawan’s performance as a terrifying werewolf is the scariest depiction of a werewolf on the silver screen since Nicholson’s 1994 Wolf.
BEST FILM: Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (dir: Shashank Khaitan)
Fans bestowed on Varun Dhawan & Alia Bhatt an endearing portmanteau – Varia – after the sleeper hit success of this totally conventional albeit wholly brilliant rom-com. And for good reason! Not since Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan’s first graced the silver screen in Baazigar twenty years ago have Bollywood audiences seen a film pairing as effortlessly fitting as Varun & Alia. Their chemistry in the film is so special and palpable that it spawned the equally successful sequel, Badrinath Ki Dulhania, and like a hundred Varia social media accounts.
