Who is Bollywood star Varun Dhawan – and why does his mum not like it when he takes his shirt off?

Indian actor and Bollywood star Varun Dhawan turns 32 this Friday, April 24. Since his debut just eight years ago, the young icon has leapt from earnest newcomer to A-lister with alarming alacrity. Here’s a look at a few fun facts about Mumbai’s millennial movie star.

Box office poster boy

Since the release of his debut film Student of the Year in October 2012, Dhawan has had an unprecedented run at the box office as 11 of the dozen movies he’s starred in have struck gold. The reviews of some of his films have been decidedly mixed – be it Main Tera Hero (I’m Your Hero, 2014), Kalank (Blemish, 2019) or Street Dancer 3D released earlier this year, the critics have not always been kind.

Of his latest release, a critic on Huffington Post wrote, “literally nobody, not a single person, expects a movie about dancing (that too in 3D) to be a social commentary on the migrant crisis. There’s no beat to it. But well, it’s Bollywood, and this is probably their idea of alleviating guilt that comes with privilege.” Ouch! However, his career remains unscathed by a dozen harsh reviewers, as millions flock to the cinema to check him out.

Failure to launch

Years after the fact, Varun Dhawan confessed in a recent telecast interview that as a young gun for hire, he had auditioned in Hollywood and Bollywood, but he did not pass muster during the folly of his youth. He auditioned for the Hindi film Dhobi Ghat (The Washer's Ghat, 2010) and was one of many hoping to land a role in Ang Lee’s Life of Pi (2012). Dhawan’s father even stepped in and told famed actor/producer Aamir Khan that his youngest son “wasn’t ready” for the big bad world of Bollywood.

To market, to market …