Varun Dhawan made his Bollywood debut in 2012 with Student of The Year, directed by Karan Johar. The film was a massive success and turned Varun, Alia Bhatt, and Sidharth Malhotra into overnight stars. Since then, Varun has built a solid career with a wide variety of roles, his latest being in Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, co-starring Janhvi Kapoor, Sanya Malhotra, and Rohit Saraf. In the run-up to the film’s release, reports surfaced that Varun was a “scene-cutting co-star,” allegedly asking directors to trim his colleagues’ roles to highlight his own. While these claims lacked credibility, the label of an “insecure actor” started making the rounds. Recently, Varun addressed the chatter in an interview with BBC Asian Network. “I do feel I have always had fans who stood by me through hits and flops,” Varun said, addding, “It’s just gossip, I guess.” When the interviewer suggested that the media loves to portray him as 'scene-cutting co-star', Janhvi Kapoor quickly defended him: “He’s the last person who’s like that! Trust me, I have been in the industry for six-seven years, I have heard enough stories, and worked with enough people. He’s one of the only actors who’s so secure and wise. He understands that a film is a collective effort. He actually gets joy in building others up. Even with the song 'Perfect', that whole number was about hyping me, and he was more than happy about it.” Varun agreed, adding: “That song was Janhvi’s, and she killed it. For me, it doesn’t matter which way the narrative swings. What matters is the collective energy that goes into a film. My friendships with co-stars are proof of that.” The interviewer further asked: "I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone spoken of so warmly, whether that's Banita Sandhu or Nargis Fakhri or Nora Fatehi, especially people who come from outside the industry. You take them under your wing and you protect them. So does it ever affect you?" ALSO READ | ‘Shah Rukh Khan’s interfaith marriage taught me it’s not wrong to respect someone’s religion’: Wedding Filmer recalls decade working with SRK Varun Dhawan replied, “Honestly if I had done something then probably it would affect me. But if someone goes out and speaks negatively because today there's so much manipulation with the media, there's so much botting. You can do fake trends. And there are a few against Sunny Sanskari as well, which are just bots against the film and that too for no reason. If it gets too much, you can just name the person, who's doing it.” Janhvi Kapoor pointed out the downside of such negativity: “The industry knows when something is fake or bot-driven, but the general public often doesn’t. It takes one second for a negative campaign to spread, and unfortunately, negativity travels faster than positivity.” Earlier, during an India Today Conclave, Janhvi had praised Varun’s habit of treating everyone equally, whether it’s co-stars, spot boys, or assistant directors. Varun explained that this stems from his upbringing: “My father is a director and technician. I have seen that a film is never made by one person. It’s created by a team of talented people on and off screen. I can’t do it alone. I need amazing co-stars.” Sanya Malhotra, also an “outsider,” backed this up with her own experience: “He made us feel so comfortable. During a big song sequence, I was nervous and asked him for tips. He helped Rohit and me without hesitation. He’s genuinely down to earth.” Janhvi added, “Varun respects everyone equally—be it a spot dada, a light dada, or the director. He doesn’t get insecure; in fact, he feels happiest when others are praised. That’s rare for a leading man.”
