Actor Varun Sharma doesn’t mince words while talking about the need for sex education in India. While he might have made his mark in comic roles, he doesn’t allow that to temper his conversation when talking of serious issues, says Chahak Mittal
Can you imagine actor Varun Sharma aka Choocha of Fukrey in a serious and intense avatar? Probably not. It would be difficult to even imagine him beyond his idiotic yet endearing and comically sweet roles.
I have been waiting for sometime and anticipating that he would be be comic in real life as well. As I walk up to him, he asks for a short two-minute break with the sweetest request ever made, “Hello, I am extremely sorry can I please come back shortly?” As I nod a yes, he smiles and leaves to keep his just-made promise intact. He returns and as we start talking about his latest, Khandaani Shafakhana, it turns out that he is as adorable as he seems to be in all his roles. And in some parts, serious too, depending on what is up for discussion. He still wants to keep certain things in the old school format yet follow the new changes in society and accept them with open arms. Just like he does in his film.
The film that revolves around Baby Bedi (played by Sonakshi Sinha), a young woman who inherits a sex clinic or a shafakhana from her late, estranged uncle. Amid a range of challenges and backlashes from the society, she tries to break taboos and ultimately open several minds. Varun, who plays her brother, Bhooshit Bedi, follows and believes in multiple stereotypes about sex disorders just like the other small town people. Completely opposing the idea of woman sexologist, he questions her, “Tu ladki hokar shafakhana chalayegi?” He says that the film’s real essence emerges from this fact as how even a sibling is against his sister when she decides to take up a job which is not considered to be appropriate for a woman. Contradicting his dialogue, Varun questions, “Kya dikkat hai ek ladki ke sex clinic chalaane mein? (What’s the harm in a woman running a sex clinic?) If people are fine with a female gynecologist and can consult them for their problems, why is a female sexologist a problem? The film tries to say that it should be looked upon as just a profession. Nobody goes to a doctor for fun. It’s a treatment for sexual disorders just like there are treatments for other diseases. And we should also look at it that way only.”
Sexual disorders are common but we hardly talk about them and this leads to various problems, especially in a taboo-ridden society like India. This is something which the actor realised during the film. He says, “People do suffer from them in a large number but never discuss them. And we never even pay attention to them as they are not considered important. And due to this, there have been so many times where when two people are going to get married and the guy is aware about his sexual problem but he doesn’t discuss it. Neither with his family, nor with the girl’s. It is finally revealed after the two get married and that is when the problems begin to arise. This has led to the break down of so many marriages in India.”
Indeed, an example of impotency in men and his difficulty in discussing it was evident in one of the episodes of Amazon Prime’s Made In Heaven, where the girl gets to know about her husband only after they are married. Varun says, “The man needs to accept it rather than hide it as a weakness and maintain an illusion. This would in turn affect not just his life but also his partner’s. Aur isliye, baat karni bohot important hai especially family ke saath. Sex education, hence, is a must. In metros, it might still be surfacing among the higher classes now, lekin chhote sheheron me nahi (But not in small towns).”
Recalling his teenage years, the actor says that he, too, hadn’t received any sex education. He adds, “I learnt and found everything myself through internet and discussed it with my friends. I am from the 90s and at that time, the atmosphere wasn’t this liberal. There was not much exposure. We couldn’t talk to our parents about even our bodily changes and issues so openly like kids do today in big cities. And I realised these things much later than at the time that I was grappling with them.”
And talking about small towns, the actor from Punjab points out that whenever he would cross a bus-stand, he would read ‘Sex Clinic’ written on a wall in bold letters, it immediately caught his fancy. “I used to stop and wonder how boldly the term (sex) has been written. A term, which we cannot even utter in regular language. I found it to be very fascinating, different and new. I am sure there would have been a number of people who thought like that. The film, through its desi humour, is trying to change just that — so that we aren’t taken by surprise. It aims to normalise it. If we are able to do it, then we succeed and it would be amazing. But if not, people will enjoy the film and return home. Simple!” says he.
Hesitation is one of the reasons why, in future, Varun wants to create an open relationship and share a friendly space with his children so that they can easily talk to him about just anything. He believes that this should be the ideal case too. “Ideally, one should go to the family first and then to the internet only to verify. But the case is reverse today. People refer to the internet first before going to their families. Earlier, even though we might have not conversed on sex-related subjects, we still spent more time with each other at home and had fun. Today, mobile phones get the highest attention,” he says and goes on to add, “Thodi si cheeze vapas se old school honi chahiye. (Some things should be back to being old school.),” says the actor, who will soon be seen in Chhichhore and RoohiAfza, a horror comedy.
The actor, who has become a comedy icon in the eyes of most youth, never fixed or planned to pick up the genre. He says, “Maine kabhi socha bhi nahi tha main comedy karunga. (I had never even imagined myself doing comedy.) I never thought I could do it. When I did theatre and shows, I only did intense roles. Ironically, Fukrey was my first attempt at comedy and I got accepted so beautifully by the audience. And this is the biggest thing for someone who is making a debut. After that, I felt that I could make someone smile and laugh. I realised this genre has chosen me. I now love it. I enjoy spreading happiness and I just hope to do this for most of my life. There are many other genres too, which I want to explore but I would not do just any film for the heck of it. Until I am not convinced or feel that I would be able to do justice to my role, I won’t take it up. But of course, never leaving comedy. Mujhe mazza aata hai yaar iss cheez me,” he laughs and ends the conversation with his beguiling smile, bunny teeth and warm handshake.
Photo: Pankaj Kumar
