I’ve started getting more calls from friends I hadn’t heard from in years now that they have seen me in a film with Shah Rukh Khan Sir and Kajol Ma’am,” Varun Sharma tells t2. The Fukrey funnyman — who almost stole the show from Kapil Sharma in Kis Kis Ko Pyaar Karoon earlier this year — hits big time with Dilwale next Friday.

Just two years in Bollywood and you have Dilwale on your CV. That’s huge! 

Yes, it is! While we were on outdoor shoots in Goa and Hyderabad, I switched my phone off and put it away and informed my mother that she could call my staff if she wanted anything. I just wanted to isolate and insulate myself and just savour the whole experience of being a part of Dilwale. It was amazing to be on set not only with Shah Rukh Sir and Kajol Ma’am, but also Varun, Kriti, Johny Sir, Sanjai Sir (Mishra), Boman Irani and to be directed by Rohit Shetty. It’s such a dream set to be on for any actor and I am so thankful that I am doing such a big film so early on in my career. 

Working on Dilwale has been almost like getting a PhD in films and filmmaking. I got to learn how action is done, how to reach deep within when you do emotional scenes, how to be romantic (smiles) and of course, how to improve my comic timing. And all this I have learnt from people who are, by far, the best in the business. On top of that, I got to see the most fancy cars ever! (Laughs) I’ve had to pinch myself every time I sat with everyone on set or off it, just to make myself believe that I was acting in a film as big as this with stars as big as this. It’s been a dream ride over the last nine months.

We know you are a big Shah Rukh Khan fan. Has working on Dilwale made you a bigger SRK fan?

For sure. Shah Rukh Sir’s passion towards films and towards the craft of acting is so beautiful, so beautiful…. He’ll come on set and keep rehearsing all the time. He’ll explore every nook and corner of the set and keep walking around and observing so that it enhances his performance. It’s been 25 years since he’s been in films and the passion for his profession.... the kind of passion he has is something I want to implement in my life.
And after pack-up, he would lead the way in having fun — partying and playing volleyball and also FIFA. I used to be very bad at FIFA initially and Boman Sir and I would be on the same team and we would invariably lose because of me. Boman Sir would get angry with me, but he would keep smiling. And I always felt so guilty that I was making him lose all the time. Then I gradually got better at the game and when we finally won, I got some peaceful sleep that night! (Laughs)

SRK-Kajol for us have been the ultimate romantic couple. What was it like seeing them on set every day?

Every morning when I would get up and go to the sets and see the two of them — even if they were sitting around and simply chatting — it was a fanboy moment to the core. I got into acting because of Baazigar. It was Yeh kaali kaali aankhen that made me realise I wanted to act… I used to lisp at that time and would dance and sing Yeh kaali kaali aankhen… yeh gole gole gaal! (Laughs) The biggest moment for me on Dilwale was when I told Shah Rukh Sir that I got into acting because of Baazigar and he hugged me. I felt so happy and blessed that I was in a film with the one who made me want to be an actor.

What was it like matching your comic skills with the likes of Johny Lever?

When you see Johny Sir acting, you don’t want to move your eyes anywhere. I always had a pen in hand whenever he would act so that I could take down notes, but my eyes wouldn’t even go down to the writing pad on my lap. I think he’s one of the finest comic actors this country has ever had… it’s not easy to make people laugh so consistently for so many years. He’s kept his comic timing so fresh, even 25-30 years later.  
   
Will it always be comedy for funnyman Varun Sharma?

My friends keep telling me that I will get typecast in comedy, but that’s something I will not leave because that’s what’s given me my identity. In college, I would do serious roles in Anton Chekhov plays, but it’s as a comic actor in Fukrey (the 2013 box-office hit produced by Farhan Akhtar and co-starring Pulkit Samrat) that people loved me in. Then Kis Kis Ko Pyaar Karoon established that further. I sure want to try my hand at all kind of roles — negative to romantic — but no way will I leave comedy. 

Does Varun Sharma have what it takes? Tell t2@abp.in