Before Varun Sharma became a familiar face in mainstream Hindi cinema for his comic timing, his journey as an actor began far away from laughter. Ahead of the release of his next film Rahu Ketu, Sharma spoke about his early years in theatre where he used to do only serious roles, how Fukrey unexpectedly changed the course of his career, and why comedy is a tough job to do in an exclusive conversation with Firstpost’s Zinia Bandyopadhyay.
Excerpts from the interview here:
‘I had never attempted comedy’
“When I ventured out, I wanted to become an actor and I started working towards it,” Sharma said, recalling his formative years in Chandigarh. “I used to do a lot of theatre back home. I did about three to four years of theatre, we did plays at national level.”
What stands out, however, is the kind of roles he gravitated towards early on. “I used to do only serious plays - Anton Chekhov’s plays, Ashwatthama, Andhayug. From my nukkad natak to main stage plays, national level plays, everything was serious. I had never attempted comedy.”
Comedy, for Sharma, felt far more intimidating than tragedy. “Imagine a person sitting and you have to make him laugh. It is a tough thing. It’s easy to generate emotions, to scare someone, but to make someone laugh, you don’t know what mood they’re in. That emotion to generate is a little thing.”
Fukrey and the leap into the unknown
Fukrey marked Sharma’s first brush with comedy, and it came with uncertainty. “I never knew that I could make people laugh or make people smile,” he admitted. “When I started auditioning for Fukrey, when I did a lot of rounds and spent a lot of time with Mrigdeep Singh Lamba, I started understanding how you do comedy.”
Sharma credits Lamba for recognising something he himself couldn’t see at the time. “He is one man who has actually nurtured me and shaped me. I didn’t know my own potential. Till date, I think he knows my potential more than I do. I’ve done almost seven films with him.”
Using a striking metaphor, Sharma added, “I was like a piece of clay. The shape that he has given me is what I became.”
How Varun found a love for comedy
The experience of seeing Fukrey on the big screen remains vivid for Sharma. “When my first film came out and I went to the theatre, I didn’t know what I was doing or how I was doing it. I was just a very raw, excited child who was happy doing what he had always dreamt of being in front of the camera and acting.”
The audience reaction changed everything. “I saw the film, and I saw people laughing and smiling. That gave me a lot of contentment and happiness.” Post-release, recognition followed. “People started recognising my face. They used to see me and smile. If someone is looking at you and smiling, feeling happy about it, there’s no better feeling.”
Choosing joy, not strategy
That response shaped the choices Sharma made going forward. “So I kept pursuing the same genre,” he said, listing films that followed, from Toli Ki Doli and Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon to Dilwale, Arjun Patiala, Roohi, Wild Wild Punjab and others.
What sealed it for him was something deeply personal. “My mother sees the film, my sister sees the film, my family sees the film, they’re smiling, they’re laughing. So I started loving it.”
Interestingly, Sharma insists there’s no fixed method behind his performances. “Till date, I don’t know the method. What do I prepare? I prepare what my directors make me prepare. I choose not to over-prepare because then the rawness will go.”
The challenge of unlearning
With over a decade in the industry since his 2013 debut, Sharma says experience has brought both growth and a new challenge. “There’s a lot of experience and learnings I’ve got. I’ve evolved as a human being and as an actor.”
Varun will next be seen in Rahu Ketu, where he will team up with his Fukrey co-star, Pulkit Samrat. The duo will play Rahu and Ketu in this film by Vipul Vig. Also featuring Shalini Pandey, the film is set to release in theatres on January 16.
