New kids on the Bollywood block

For a banner that has introduced a slew of directors, Dharma Productions, unlike a Yash Raj Films or Vishesh Films, has not been known to launch new faces on screen.

And so, it is remarkable that Karan Johar, son of the banner’s founder Yash Johar, and now its head honcho, has chosen three youngsters as the protagonists in his latest directorial venture, Student Of The Year.

Two of the three newbies are from film backgrounds — Varun Dhawan is the son of ‘90s comedy czar David Dhawan, while Aaliya Bhatt is the daughter of Mahesh Bhatt and Soni Razdan. Siddharth Malhotra is the outsider, the Delhi dude who, like Varun, has had a spell as an assistant director with Karan Johar, and the directors of his productions.

Varun is the most extroverted of the lot, though he says that the pressure on a film industry kid to deliver is four-fold. “Dad has seen my work, which includes plays with Sanjana Kapoor, Atul Mongia and Barry John,” he says. “At home, I would see boys coming in from all over the country to give screen tests and auditions, and I must confess that after watching their struggles, my life has indeed been comfortable. So it was a conscious decision that I have to make it on my own steam.”

Though Varun never said it in so many words, he always knew that he would become an actor. “When I watched those boys, I would start performing outside that room. I am a good dancer and would dance at parties and friends of the family would tell my parents, ‘Make him an actor!’” When it came to the crux, Varun decided that he had to learn the ropes before he stepped into films.

“I had only two choices — Karan and Rajkumar Hirani,” he says loftily. “Besides their brilliance, I would get to work with the best — Kajol, Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan.” Varun loves his father’s films but his personal favourites are edgier films like Kahaani and Khosla Ka Ghosla. Besides assisting Karan Johar on My Name Is Khan, he also assisted Karan Malhotra on Johar’s Agneepath.

It was on the sets of My Name Is Khan that Varun first met his co-star Siddharth Malhotra and established a rapport with him. “Siddharth is the very serious kind. And Aaliya and I did not hit it off immediately, because she thought that I was snobbish simply because I was concentrating on my work.”

Siddharth laughs at Varun’s assessment of him. “Just as Aaliya thought Varun was snobbish, Varun thinks that I am this very serious guy. No, I am quite chilled out, but yes, I am the outsider, and I knew that I had to make it. I came here through my modelling agency, Elite, hoping that I would either become an actor or a filmmaker.”

Siddharth had a false start — he was slated to do an Anubhav Sinha film for Adlabs that did not take off. “Karan, however, is unique. Despite his achievements, he is totally devoid of ego. He insists that we call him Karan, and he is younger than all of us in thought. I would bombard him with questions and he would mock-grumble, but answer them all. The questions were all mostly because the things I was doing in the film were what no one does in real life. But that is what a classic Karan Johar film is all about — larger than life. And Karan is a dream director. No amount of retakes can hassle him, and he is so relaxed and helps all of us to be comfortable. He is a great actor himself and he tells you to copy him if you do not know how to interpret a scene.”

Assisting on a film, opines Siddharth, helps a lot. Apart from the technical aspects about markings and camera angles, watching the best actors at work teaches an actor too.
An amusing recollection for Siddharth is his first shoot — a song-and-dance sequence.
“The other two were comfortable, but it took me a while to get used to it, and I kind of went blank when Farah Khan said ‘Action!’ She yelled at me: ‘Are you dead or what!’ ” laughs the affable youngster.

Though Siddharth admits that it is tougher for those outside the industry as they have to “do more homework” to make it here, he was never insecure about his film industry co-stars stealing the show. “I have watched Karan direct Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, and he treated the three of us on par with them. Karan had organised acting workshops for Aaliya and us. So there was a complete comfort zone. Besides, a first film is only a platform you get. After that, you are on your own, depending on how good you are,” he stresses, echoing Varun’s sentiments on the issue.

Aaliya is the reticent one. “I had auditioned and could not believe that I was chosen among some 500 girls. The best thing was that though I knew I was selected for a Dharma film, I had no clue that I would be directed by Karan himself,” says the young lady.

Aaliya stresses the fact that being the daughter of Mahesh Bhatt or actress Soni Razdan did not win her the role. “Having family in films may be an advantage but the expectations are higher too,” says Aaliya, expressing the hope that she will work one day in a Mahesh Bhatt film. Aaliya admits to being a pampered kid in real life. “I had to lose lots of weight for the role,” she says.

Her character is of a girl from a dysfunctional family. “It is not a love triangle,” Siddharth explains of the movie, “my character is that of a middle class orphan who aims to be a tycoon.” And Varun chips in, “I am the rebel son, who does not want to be what his tycoon-father wants him to be, and is into music. Student Of The Year is a film that goes way beyond the physical gloss and grandeur. As with Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, there is a deeper, subtler message within.”