They both got off the blocks together seven years ago and through their individual journeys and as co-stars, they are frontlining the new star brigade in the Hindi film industry. Yet Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt have shown that they would rather be uneasy than comfortable, challenging their abilities in fresh stories, walking the untrodden path and taking risks in non-commercial projects. In the process, they have not given up on the mass entertainers, respecting them enough to justify their existence and subtly changing the grammar even within that format. In Kalank, the two actors attempt a classical romance with their unique brand of chemistry and contemporary understanding. Offscreen, they are grounded and focussed individuals with definitive and differing worldviews and craft. They represent the fresh breath of every young Indian in their desire to reset every known template with their individual talent. By Rinku Ghosh

Kalank is set in a period that young actors like you may have difficulty relating to because it is generations apart. So what were the reference points in your preparation process, did you read up and how did you contemporise sensibilities?

Varun: Yes, the research was there to understand the context but the acting sensibilities are very different today. There’s definitely a paradigm shift in terms of performance and texture in what the audience is accepting today and most new directors want that syntax from the actors. Just because we were doing a film set in the 1940s, our director was very clear that he didn’t want us to “act” like actors did in the films of that era, which was a bit over-the-top. Agreed, filmmakers do take cinematic liberties but obviously a 1940 cinematic liberty is different from that of 2019. So we have tried to keep the performance very real and organic within the trajectory of our characters. The director didn’t want us to go melodramatic at all in any of the scenes. There is a lot of drama but he wanted to keep it very fluent. Only as and when the need was, he allowed us to play with the pitch. So consciously, I did not rely on particular references.

Alia: Just taking forward from what Varun said, what one of the things I enjoyed the most was delivering my dialogues. If you hear them, they are almost like poetry but how do you not make them seem overwhelming. The only way that I could make them believable was to keep the words in a normal pitch, with a contemporary style and touch. The references were not many but just a few. Like I watched Mughal-e-Azam, Umrao Jaan and Silsila, not for any particular character or periodicity but to understand grace and gravitas. I just wanted to get a sense of how the women would carry themselves at that time, their body language, their demeanour, their subtlety. Because I’m a girl of today, my body language may be a bit more free and unhindered; I may end up using my hands, shoulders and all of that. So how do I restrain myself, bring about some grace and vulnerability in the eyes, maintain carriage. I have mentioned this before as well that Sanam’s character in the TV show Zindagi Gulzaar Hai was a big reference and inspiration for me for how to bring about vulnerability and strength with a burden on your shoulders at the same time.

Varun: Me and Alia are very different actors. She is very instinctive, I prep a lot. Abhishek Varman (the director) and she have an amazing tuning. With me it’s different. I usually come with a buffet of ideas of what the character could be. Which is why Abhishek didn’t want me to over-prepare for this role. All I did was go through a month of diction classes. Luckily, we also had a dialect coach on the sets, Kamal sahab. Abhishek really wanted me to work on my body language because this is the most “manly” role I have done so far. So he didn’t want me to do any gesture that comes to me naturally in real life. He said he wanted to remove Varun from Zafar. And hopefully you won’t see Varun in Zafar. This is also my most complex role, with my character carrying the baggage of a past, being conflicted and sorting out his identity through a set of emotions. There’s a self-reckoning through Roop, Alia’s character, who actually does the heavy-lifting in the film.

Alia: She is a progressive girl. She may not be doing everything that’s right but her intention is never bad. She is an emotional person who has been burdened by the journey of life. Yet she is adorable despite her complexities. The challenging part was to make her likeable, make the audience feel for her.

 As actors, both of you have straddled arthouse realism and the big commercial entertainers rather effortlessly. How difficult is it to keep the balance while switching genres at a time which allows it?

Alia: I do not think in binaries. My only focus is to do different stories and cinema. And yes, as actors we want all films to be commercially successful.

Varun: Everything should do well. And we are lucky to be in a time when a merger of ideas has happened in the film industry.

Alia: For me, the focus is on the story and how well I can tell it. The only aspect I vary is my choice of roles; I may want to do a light film after a heavy one. Sometimes I pick up roles only when I want to challenge and scare myself a bit. It’s a feeling that comes from within. So when opportunities come to you, you just kind of run with it.

Varun: I can attempt a range simply because  my exposure to cinema has been very, very big from my childhood. Courtesy my dad (director David Dhawan), who was a gold medallist from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), me and my brother were brought up on world cinema. So my dad’s favourite film, something I watched over and over again when I was a child, Bicycle Thief, had a great impact on me. Satyajit Ray’s films are my all-time favourites. When I told him I wanted to be an actor — I remember I had come back from England and was recovering from a jetlag — he told me the first thing I should do is watch Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless. I watched that film till 6 am and then watched it twice the whole day. So there are these certain films that have impacted my life. There is Dev Anand’s Guide, also Oliver Stone’s The Doors. Right now I’m obsessed with Split, a psychological horror film featuring a person with multiple personality disorder. So somewhere when I do a film like October or Badlapur, it allows me to expand my range, test myself. Every narrative doesn’t have to be dramatic, I like smooth ones too. I just love cinema. I want to do every genre, every type of character.

What is that hunger that drives you to the next role? How do you make your script choices?

Varun: I have made a very conscious decision about my next project because wherever I go, I run into so many children who are my fans. So I have to do something specific for them. The next two or three films are going to be very family and kid-oriented. Like happy films.

Alia: My choice of films depends on just what I am feeling at the time of hearing the story. It’s not complicated, it’s organic and just comes from the gut. Within 10-15 minutes of the narration, I know if this is the film I want to do or not. I choose my script purely on instinct. Sometimes I may find a really good script but if I am not in the headspace to do it in the required timeframe, then I let go. I need to feel inspired at that moment. So genuinely, there are no heavy calculations. And I like to keep it that way. It’s more fun.

Both of you also have back-to-back projects after Kalank. So how do you keep it real between films and how much space do you get to draw on real life as observers?

Alia: We are always around real people. Especially on film sets. And I am not talking about industry colleagues and friends. I am talking about all the backroom men and women who are working on the sets and with whom we interact. Sometimes, I just look at people around me going through their motions. For me, in terms of characters, it’s very important to imagine. I treat each story like reading a book; you imagine the character doing things beyond the written word, like going to the park, eating food. When I am playing a certain character, I go into this story book mode. And then enjoy the story from that character’s point of view. That’s how I switch off my characters once a film ends. I treat each of my roles as a book that I am reading and when finished, pick up the next one.

I believe inspiration can be drawn from anything, any moment. There’s a myth that an artist needs to go out, ponder and think. But you don’t always have that luxury. What do you do then? I am from the mark only very observant. Standing in front of the camera, I look at everybody, even minutiae like somebody’s muscles twitching or a facial expression. I may unconsciously pick up something from somebody and apply it somewhere. According to me, the more clinical you are about the process, the more put on it will look on screen. It has to come from a part you don’t know it’s actually coming from. One of the things that I enjoy the most during acting is when the director tells me that the ‘way you did this in the previous shot was better.’ And if I don’t remember how I had done it, I like that feeling because at least it means I was lost in the moment. It doesn’t always happen though because you can’t be that honest always. But when it happens, it feels good. Of course, I disconnect from work and have a great support system of non-industry friends. Acting is actually a small part of my life.

Varun: Even I engage with the real world as much as possible and have a non-industry circle and family to rely upon. I  have a complete alternate universe of friends who are not even closely related to the film fraternity and are far away from it. I have a whole gang which is into football, UFC and a lot of other things. I could play anything and everything. I spend a lot of time with my younger nieces whenever I get the chance because eventually I make the films for them as well. All of this keeps me grounded.

 Varun, how is your process different from that of Alia’s?

Varun: Very different. I think I am very cinematic in general. The way I look at this room is very different than any other human being. Since we are sitting at this ballroom, I am thinking Great Gatsby. It seems like some jazz music is going to play anytime now. I am imagining a scene where eventually there would be people dancing. So I imagine film scenes and frames wherever I go always. It’s a continuous process of visualisation and understanding.

I believe there is a big disconnect from what film people think is cool and what actually is cool. I don’t think we actually get it. The day we do, the sky is the limit and films will be very relatable. We are closer to it today but we keep thinking ki gaane ke itne views ho toh hit hai and radio pe chale toh hit hai (if a song gets likes and tops radio charts, we think it is a hit). But the truth is TikTok is the biggest thing in the country right now. Everybody is on the app recording performance videos. The reach of social media has been massive. I remember I was away from a month and my house help recorded a video of him going into my room, wearing my clothes and performing on each of my songs. My manager showed me his antics on the live app. Everyday he was posting a video with a new song. It was funny and cool. Yet he went about his chores too. That’s the kind of reach cinema has. If I ever play a house help, I would love to be like him.

You both are also influencers courtesy the huge following on your social media profiles. Do you ever feel the pressure then to react to current issues of the day and respond when somebody provokes or prods you? People do expect your views and opinions simply because you have made yourselves available to them...

Alia: It would be foolish to say that we don’t have opinions. Of course, we do. We have an opinion from disease to divinity. But right now is not the time where another opinion will be heard or respected. There are so many opinions already swirling around. And people just go on and on without attempting a dialogue.

Varun: When we created our profiles, we were always told to speak our minds and speak well of the facts that we knew. And sometimes we say things we strongly feel about but until that statement is not controversial enough, the media is also not going to give it coverage. So many times I have said what is right but it was disregarded simply because the media felt it was boring.

I have said more than 500 times that I am a very secular person by nature. I have been brought up in a way that my family celebrates all festivals. There is a statue of Christ in my house, my mother goes to the church on Good Friday and on Eid, we get biryani cooked at home. So many of my Muslim friends celebrate Ganpati Utsav. This is the environment in which I grew up and I intend keeping it that way.

Alia: The exact same thing. At a point of time, I had Ya Aali Madad, a Ganesha poster and a Cross on the same panel. I believe actions speak louder than words.

Varun: I think in each part of the country people go through different experiences. This is the way I have felt, so I will always speak about it this way. But at the same time, I am an Indian. So I will support my armed forces as they keep us safe. But I will not make any controversial statement for the sake of a headline space. That’s wrong.

Alia: Sometimes I feel the ping-pong of opinions tends to blow an issue out of proportion even more. Won’t do it for virality.

Varun: Just because you’re famous, you cannot take away the focus from the actual issue and divert attention to yourself. After that, the news becomes what this person has said not what actually happened. So the whole attention goes to the person. As public figures, we have to be smart and stand up for what is right.

Alia: Coming back to your question, I don’t think we feel the pressure. I feel very comfortable in our space. As my father said, there are so many opinions right now that the world can do with one less. So I keep that to myself and express myself through my actions.