“I can’t give you that quote”

Mumbai:

Varun Dhawan on Tuesday revealed that he once asked Aditya Chopra to cast him in an action film, but the producer turned him down saying the actor was not yet “at that place” to justify the budget necessary to make a good film of the genre.

Dhawan, who is directing the India chapter of global spy series Citadel with Citadel: Honey Bunny opposite Samantha Ruth Prabhu, revealed the story during the trailer launch of the Prime Video show.

“During the lockdown, I met Aditya Chopra, he was playing badminton and Maneesh Sharma was there. They were doing ‘Tiger’ (3) at the time. I asked him, ‘Why don’t you do an action film with a younger talent?’. He said, ‘I want to give you acting roles and I don’t want to give you action (roles).'” Dhawan said.

“He (Chopra) said, ‘I can’t do that because I can’t give you that budget right now.’ You’re not in that place where I can give you such a big budget.’ I kept thinking and then I texted him and asked, ‘What’s the budget?’ And he gave me a figure, that this is the budget you need to do something big in action.” Dhawan said when Honey Bunny came his way, the first question he asked creators Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK of The Family Man and Farzi fame, and Amazon Prime Video was on their budget.

“… Because I have this knowledge from Aditya Chopra that you need so much budget to make something look good in action. I am thankful to Amazon and Raj & DK for giving us this platform because that is necessary to make something look great. , to make the actors seem larger than life.” Dhawan, who will be starring in Atlee-produced Baby John, said he is thankful to southern filmmakers for giving him a chance to explore the action genre and hopes Bollywood will also take note.

“I had a great time (doing action). It’s a wake-up call, and hopefully a lot of people take notice. Right now, I feel only south Indians are eyeing me and giving me big opportunities in action, which is true. I started working with Raj & DK, and Sam, and then, I am working with Atlee and Keerthy (Suresh, actress). Hopefully, this will pave the way for other people in our industry to give me (action roles),” he said.

Set in the 1990s, Citadel: Honey Bunny is presented as a gripping narrative that fuses a love story with action beats.

The Hindi series, which also stars Kay Kay Menon, Saqib Saleem and Sikander Kher, will premiere on November 7 on Prime Video.

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