Varun Dhawan doesn’t always like comparisons to Govinda, Salman Khan, reveals father David Dhawan

In a recent interview, David Dhawan addressed the comparisons between his son Varun Dhawan and stars like Salman and Govinda.

Ever since his Bollywood debut, Varun Dhawan has frequently found himself at the centre of comparisons with Govinda and Salman Khan. Now, his father and filmmaker David Dhawan has revealed that there are days when Varun doesn’t quite appreciate these comparisons.

Varun Dhawan made his Bollywood debut with Karan Johar’s Student of the Year.

David on son Varun

In an interview with Pinkvilla, David addressed the comparisons between his son and stars like Salman and Govinda, sharing his thoughts on how Varun responds to them.

David said, “Varun likes Salman Khan, Govinda and also Akshay Kumar. Some of the scenes that I shoot look like it is a Salman Khan scene, but it is not like that.”

When asked about Varun’s feelings about being compared to Salman and Govinda, he said, “He doesn’t like it sometimes. He tells me, ‘Papa aap mujhse kya karate rehte ho (What are you making me do).’ I tell him that this is my cinema but you do it like yourself, people will say these things because both Govinda and Salman have been such successful actors with me. It is part of life. Good that he is being compared to good actors.”

Previously, during the promotion of his upcoming film Aa Gaya Hero, Govinda said, “Varun Dhawan can never be like me… How can Varun be like me? To become Govinda, he needs to be innocent, uneducated and a poor village boy. Varun is already a son of a director.” Later, Varun reacted to the statement, mentioning that the senior actor was right. “Woh kehte hai mujhme aur unme koi samantaye nahi hai. Yeh sahi hai. Kisi mein samantayein ho bhi nahi sakti. (He says there is no similarity between him and me, which is right. There cannot be similarities between people).”

David and Salman’s collaboration has given hits such as Judwaa, Biwi No.1 and Partner. And his partnership with Govinda gave comedy hits including Raja Babu, Coolie No. 1, Hero No. 1, Saajan Chale Sasural, and Partner.

More about Varun Dhawan

Varun Dhawan made his Bollywood debut with Karan Johar’s Student of the Year, alongside Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotra. He was most recently seen in the film Border 2. Helmed by Anurag Singh, the film also featured Sunny Deol, Diljit Dosanjh and Ahan Shetty in lead roles, along with Mona Singh, Sonam Bajwa, Medha Rana and Anya Singh in key parts. The film emerged as a commercial success, collecting ₹450 crore worldwide.

Now, the actor is awaiting the release of his upcoming film, Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai. The romantic comedy also stars Pooja Hegde and Mrunal Thakur in lead roles, along with Jimmy Shergill, Mouni Roy and Rohit Saraf in key roles. The film is directed by David Dhawan, and marks the fourth collaboration between father and son after Main Tera Hero, Judwaa 2 and Coolie No. 1.

The film was earlier scheduled to release in cinemas on June 5, but was later postponed to avoid a clash with Yash’s Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups, which is set to release on June 4. The film is scheduled to release on June 12.