Varun Dhawan appreciation thread

Varun Dhawan turns 31: Decoding his 100 per cent track record at the box-office

With no flop film in his kitty in a career spanning almost six years, Varun Dhawan is unarguably the most bankable young star of Bollywood right now. As he turns 31, we try to decode his 100 per cent track record at the box-office. 

Even as we write this, Varun Dhawan's October is all set to cross the Rs 40 crore-mark at the box-office to become his 10th hit in a row. In a career spanning less than six years, the actor hasn't delivered a single out and out flop, a record none of his contemporaries hold. It might not have occured to the majority of us but this 5-feet 6-inches lad has become the uncrowned king of the box-office over the course of time. So what is it that makes Varun Dhawan the most bankable young star of Bollywood? On his 31st birthday today, let's try and decode this.

Back in 2012, Varun debuted in Hindi films with Karan Johar's Student Of The Year, the ultimate launchpad for an aspiring star. The film, co-starring Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotra, gave the actor ample scope to showcase his acting prowess. His droolworthy looks and chiselled abs got sufficient attention too. The critics as well as the audience found the actor to be a perfect package for commercial Bollywood films. With Rs 70 crore as its lifetime collection, the film was dubbed a superhit.

(Happy Birthday Varun: October boy's Instagram photographs can make any girl weak in her knees)

Almost one and a half years later, Varun appeared in Main Tera Hero (2014), directed by his father David Dhawan, a downright masala entertainer that cemented his position as a commercial Hindi cinema star. The actor received immense appreciation for his flawless comic timing. His charismatic aura ensured adequate footfall in the theatres. Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, released in the same year, marked VD's reunion with Alia. His portrayal of Humpty Sharma, a naive Delhi boy, struck an instant chord with the audiences making the film a huge hit at the box-office.

In Sriram Raghavan's Badlapur (2015), Varun completely did away with his good boy image. His act of a revengeful husband, who sports a salt-n-pepper beard, was a revelation. It was a move labeled risky by the trade pundits but the success of the film proved everyone wrong. In fact, post Badlapur, the industry began seeing the actor in a new light. With ABCD 2, released in the same year, he was back into the space of commercial films. The film went on to become a super-success at the box-office.

Rohit Shetty's Dilwale (2015), where Varun played second fiddle to no less than Shah Rukh Khan, might have been panned by critics but in terms of earnings at the box-office, it turned out to be another success for the actor. Dishoom (2016), helmed by his brother Rohit Dhawan, once again put his brilliant comic timing on display. The easy-breezy entertainer fared pretty well at the ticket windows.

2017's Badrinath Ki Dulhania marked Varun's third collaboration with Alia. Romantic comedies never go wrong for the actor and this film was no exception. While movie maniacs went gaga over Varun and Alia's crackling chemistry, the underlining theme of women empowerment received praise from several quarters. Judwaa 2 (2017), the actor's second collaboration with father David Dhawan, was another addition to the long list of masala entertainers he has done in his career. While a section of the media criticised the film for its regressive tone, the audiences lapped it up. With lifetime earnings of over Rs 137 crore, Judwaa 2remains Varun's biggest hit.

True, the collections of October, his latest big screen outing, are not at par with that of his previous films. But that was never meant to be the case. It was a film the actor wanted to be a part of irrespective of how it performs at the box-office. Nonetheless, the Shoojit Sircar directorial has turned out to be a profitable venture for its makers. As for Varun, it brought him more respect than the moolah, something which he describes as "life changing.