Varun Dhawan dismisses awards shows for snubbing October: ‘I perform there, get paid’
Actor Varun Dhawan has said that there is a lot of criteria that comes into play at awards shows, but he is happy to perform there and get paid. “Awards come and go, this film will stay,” he said.
Actor Varun Dhawan has said that he is aware of the cold shoulder treatment his critically acclaimed film October has received at the year-end awards, and hopes that the snub is written about in the press. The actor said that he didn’t do the film for awards anyway, but ‘because the script clicked’ with him.
Speaking to Mid-Day, Varun said, “The press needs to write about the film (not being nominated). Till date, I get at least one message a day for that movie.”
October was a change of pace for Varun, who is known for his blockbuster mainstream films. Directed by Shoojit Sircar, October was a modest success at the box office, grossing over ₹50 crore against a reported ₹30 crore budget. Varun played a hotel management trainee, who dedicates his life to being with a girl whom he is in love with after she falls into a coma.
Varun continued, “Recently, Jacqueline Fernandez watched the film on a flight and called me to appreciate my performance. That is the royalty I am collecting.” He said that he is ‘happy to go to (awards shows),’ and to ‘perform at the events and get paid for it’, but added that ‘award shows have a lot of other criteria’ at play when it comes to picking the winners.
October has been largely snubbed at the year-end awards, but scored six nominations at the Filmfare awards, and two at the Screen awards. Varun was nominated for his performance both times.
He continued, “I never did October for awards. I did it because the script clicked with me. Awards will come and go. This film will stay.” The actor will return to the mainstream with producer Karan Johar’s period costume drama, Kalank, which releases on the 17th. The film reunites him with Alia Bhatt and also stars Aditya Roy Kapur, Sonakshi Sinha, Madhuri Dixit and Sanjay Dutt.
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