Exclusive: I don't want to play real life characters right now, says Varun Dhawan

Which actor in his right frame of mind would reject a film with Nitesh Tiwari, director of arguably the most successful Bollywood movies of all times? Well, Varun Dhawan just said no to the Dangal filmmaker. In no other part of the world would actors speak about the film they turned down. Imagine Dustin Hoffman bragging about turning down Al Pacino’s part in The Godfather, or Shashi Kapoor going to town on how Rajesh Khanna’s role in Anand was first offered to him.

While there have been gasps of disbelief about Varun saying no to Nitesh, the real reason isn’t known to many. We can tell you that the real reason why Varun opted out of the film is that he won’t play any real-life characters at this stage of his career.

Nitesh’s new film is an adaptation of young entrepreneur Varun Aggarwal’s self-inspired novel, How I Braved Anu Aunty Co-Founded a Million Dollar Company. This is the third such project of immense prestige that Varun has resolutely said no to. Earlier, he was offered a chance to play the legendary hockey player Dhyan Chand, and Olympian shooter Abhinav Bindra.

Saying no to these, Varun had explained, “I’d love to play these glorious people, who brought such recognition to the country. But to be very honest, I don’t think I’m emotionally or spiritually equipped to handle such roles. Maybe later in my career, but right now, I don’t want to play real life characters.”