“I am happy” – Varun Dhawan on critical and commercial response to Badlapur

February 21, 2015 - 3:12 AM IST

It is four in a row for Varun Dhawan. After Student of the Year (7.5 crore), Main Tera Hero (6.5 crore) and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya (9 crore), now Badlapur has opened well too (7 crore+). What makes it sweeter is the fact that while his first three films were candy floss affairs that were meant to be in a feel-good zone while building on Varun's chocolate boy image, it is a dark and twisted world of Badlapur that has shown him in an entirely different light.

No wonder, audience has already started spreading good word of mouth for the Dinesh Vijan and Sunil Lulla production that is growing from strength to strength ever since the first show commenced. Critics as well as industry bigwigs have anyways been singing praises post the preview screenings and theatrical release.

"Thankfully, the jinx has broken," says a prominent exhibitor, "It has been disheartening for last so many months when one looks at the quality of films being churned out. Baby is the only film in the recent past that has shown sustenance at the box office. Now, Badlapur promises to keep the audience engaged for the next fortnight at least since it is a kind of film that has long legs."

For director Sriram Raghavan, who has indeed seen a massive turnaround in appreciation coming his way when compared to his biggie Agent Vinod, it is the return to zone that has proven quite beneficial for him, both in artistic as well as commercial terms. This is pretty much apparent with the fact that on the opening day itself, Badlapur has managed to cross the lifetime collections of his Johnny Gaddaar as well as Ek Hasina Thi.

As for Varun, he now can be assured that yet another success is all set to be added to his kitty.

Says Varun, "The critics and audience have appreciated the film and I can't ask for more. I am still a newcomer and to make a film like Badlapur work has taken a lot out of me. But then I am happy since the film is making money as well."

Here is hoping that the trend stays as Bollywood is indeed in need of some more successes.

"Well, looks like Varun was the only one who preempted the need for a change from far-far away," says a fellow critic. "When most were playing safe, he signed Badlapur right after Student of the Year. He knew that conventional is not going to work anymore and though conventional wisdom around him guided otherwise, he went by his instinct. Look who is having the final laugh now!"

Apart from Varun, that man with maniacal laughter - Nawazuddin Siddiqui, has now further cemented his place in the industry with an act that would go down in the annals of history as par excellence.