Varun Dhawan has opened up about a deeply personal and challenging period during the filming of the war drama Border 2. Speaking at a success press-con for the film, Varun revealed that while he was busy shooting high-octane sequences, his father, David Dhawan, suffered a major health scare and had to be admitted to the ICU.
The incident took place while the crew was stationed in Babina to film the pivotal Battle of Basantar sequence. Recalling the difficult time, Varun shared, “Jab film ki shooting chal rahi thi, specially jab hum Babina mein Battle of Basantar shoot kar rahe the, us waqt mere father ko health scare hua aur woh ICU mein admit ho gaye. Obviously, Anurag and Binoy knew about it. Main turant flight leke ghar gaya (When the film’s shooting was going on, especially when we were shooting the Battle of Basantar in Babina, at that time my father had a health scare and he was admitted to the ICU. Obviously, Anurag and Binoy knew about it. I immediately took a flight and went home)”.
Upon reaching the hospital, Varun was met with an unexpected reaction from his father. Despite being in the ICU, David Dhawan’s professional discipline remained intact, and he questioned his son’s decision to leave the set. Varun shared the conversation: “ICU mein jaake maine dad ko dekha. Unhone mujhse kaha, ‘How can you come back? Tum wapas kaise aa gaye? Tumhari shooting chal rahi hai.’ (I went into the ICU and saw Dad. He said to me, ‘How can you come back? How have you come back? Your shooting is going on)”.
While Varun’s instinct was to remain by his father’s side, David insisted that the show must go on. He revealed, “Maine kaha, ‘Kya bol rahe ho papa? Main yahin rahunga.’ Lekin unhone bola, ‘Hum log picture banate hain, logon ko entertain karte hain. Producer ka bahut paisa laga hota hai. Tum kal subah wapas jao aur apna call time meet karo’ (“I said, ‘What are you saying Papa? I will stay right here.’ But he said, ‘We make movies, we entertain people. A lot of the producer’s money is at stake. You go back tomorrow morning and meet your call time)”.
This experience altered Varun’s perspective on the pressures of stardom, particularly online trolling. At the time, he had been facing trolling and memes regarding his performance and the film’s promotions. However, the gravity of his father’s health situation made the digital noise feel inconsequential.
Addressing the culture of social media criticism, Varun said, “Ye, pehle toh trolling sabki hoti hai. Aajkal it’s become a thing, it’s become fashion. Some people can take it in their stride, some people can’t. Toh luckily, I could take it (First of all, everyone gets trolled. Nowadays it’s become a thing, it’s become a fashion. Some people can take it in their stride, some people can’t. So luckily, I could take it)”.
He concluded by highlighting how real-life crises put everything into focus, “Main sirf itna kehna chahta hoon ki jab zindagi mein aise serious cheezein hoti hain, toh trolling kuch bhi nahi lagti. It does not make a difference. (I just want to say that when such serious things happen in life, then trolling feels like nothing. It does not make a difference)”.
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