Varun Dhawan Says Dad David Dhawan Started ‘Feeling Like’ Salman Khan: ‘He Started Walking Bare-Bodied’

Varun Dhawan shared a hilarious story about how working with Salman Khan changed filmmaker David Dhawan so much that he started walking around “bare-bodied” with extra confidence. The actor spoke during the David Dhawan Film Festival attended by Salman Khan himself. Salman Khan attends David Dhawan Film Festival Salman Khan attended the David Dhawan Film Festival and shared a light-hearted moment with paparazzi while posing for pictures at the event. The actor was reportedly heard saying, “Ye jagah thik hai.” The festival celebrated David Dhawan’s long association with comedy entertainers and also brought attention back to his successful collaborations with Salman Khan over the years. The duo worked together in films like Judwaa, Biwi No. 1,

Mujhse Shaadi Karogi and Partner. Many of these films became major box-office successes and helped shape David Dhawan’s signature comedy style. Varun Dhawan recalls father’s ‘Salman Khan phase’ During the event, Varun Dhawan opened up about watching his father closely after he began working with Salman Khan repeatedly. Salman Khan has long been known for his fitness, shirtless screen presence and larger-than-life confidence in Bollywood films. Varun joked that Salman’s personality and confidence slowly rubbed off on David Dhawan over the years. “When you work with Salman Khan, you also change. Somewhere you start feeling that you are Salman Khan!” The actor then recalled a funny memory from home and said his father had started behaving differently after collaborating with Salman. “I remember my father walking bare-bodied a lot. There was another level of confidence in him.” David Dhawan opens up about Salman Khan David Dhawan also spoke warmly about his long working relationship with Salman Khan and described him as one of the most enjoyable actors he has worked with. “What a guy to work with!” Adding he initially misunderstood Salman’s quiet working style during their first collaboration on Judwaa. “I used to feel he’s disinterested. Lekin yeh meri galat fehmi thi. He was quite interested. But it took me a while to realise.”

Over the years, the professional relationship between Salman and David turned into a close personal bond as well. “I used to sit with him in the evening and have drinks with him. At times, I used to wake him up and take him for the shoot! I used to open the cupboard and even take out his outfit.”
David Dhawan’s next film with son Varun Dhawan
David Dhawan is now gearing up for the release of Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai starring Varun Dhawan, Mrunal Thakur and Pooja Hegde.
The comedy entertainer marks David’s fourth collaboration with Varun after Main Tera Hero, Judwaa 2 and Coolie No. 1. The film also stars Maniesh Paul, Chunky Panday and Jimmy Sheirgill in important roles and is scheduled to release in theatres on June 5, 2026.