How Varun Dhawan channeled Rajinikanth for 'Baby John'
Bollywood star Varun Dhawan is all set to woo audiences with his upcoming Christmas release, Baby John. To get into the skin of the character, Dhawan studied the iconic mannerisms of South Indian cinema legend Rajinikanth. He told Variety, "I wanted to do something larger than life. I wanted to be that macho hero." The film is a huge departure from his previous work and a major collaboration between Hindi and South Indian cinema.
'Baby John' is a Hindi-South Indian cinema collaboration
Directed by Kalees, Baby John is a joint venture between Jio Studios and Atlee, produced by Murad Khetani, Priya Atlee, and Jyoti Deshpande. The film is an action-drama that follows in the footsteps of Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan's venture into South Indian-style cinema with Atlee's Jawan. This project marks a major collaboration between Hindi and South Indian cinema.
Dhawan's preparation and inspiration for 'Baby John'
To prep for his role, Dhawan delved into South Indian cinema's mass appeal moments. He was shown a video compilation of Rajinikanth and other actors from Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi cinema copying Rajinikanth's style. He also took inspiration from the 1991 Amitabh Bachchan starrer Hum. "Baby John has similar themes... It also has another theme of protection of women in this country," he explained.
Dhawan on challenges and highlights of 'Baby John' production
Dhawan admitted that adapting to the South Indian filmmaking style was difficult. He called it one of his toughest acting assignments, saying, "No shooting day felt easy ever. There was no light shooting day. Everything felt heavy. Everything felt big." However, despite the difficulties, he enjoyed working with his young co-star Zara, calling their scenes together fun and spontaneous.
Dhawan's future projects and evolving Indian cinema
Dhawan has a mixed bag of projects, including the comedy Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai, directed by his father David Dhawan, and the war film sequel Border 2. He will also start working on Anees Bazmee's comedy sequel No Entry 2 by the end of 2025. Looking back at how Indian cinema has changed in 2024, he said audiences now expect more and won't accept mediocrity.
