‘At least he’s being himself’: Varun Dhawan opens up about stardom and praises Salman Khan for keeping it real

Varun Dhawan spoke honestly about the struggles that come with fame, saying many actors feel lonely despite their public image. He also stressed the importance of being yourself, and pointed to Salman Khan's social media posts as a good example of someone who keeps it real with his fans.

Varun Dhawan on why he dropped the façade early on

In a conversation with Bombay Times, Varun did not hold back when talking about the emotional side of being an actor. "Actors' lives are very lonely. Ninety percent of actors are very lonely," said Varun. But rather than let that loneliness push him into creating a polished, carefully constructed public persona, he chose to go the other way. He said that right from the time he stepped into the spotlight with Karan Johar's 2012 campus drama 'Student of the Year', he made a conscious choice to simply be himself.

"Luckily, from the beginning, I've dropped the façade. What Varun is there, Varun is here also. I'm not like, your back has to be straight all the time. I try not to do that. My mental health will go for a toss. I can't pretend because somewhere, it (the bubble) would burst."

Varun Dhawan on Salman Khan's late-night posts

The actor also looked back at his earlier days in the industry, recalling how he was even more outspoken and unfiltered then. "If you see my earlier interviews, I was even moohfat and aur bhi bakwas karta tha main.

Now, people are getting more conscious because of social media. But what's the most that can happen? They'll cancel you," he said. He then brought up Salman Khan, who has recently been grabbing attention for his quirky late-night Instagram posts paired with the most unexpected captions.

The mention clearly amused Varun. "When I see Salman bhai's posts at night, he's going into another zone only," said Varun, laughing.

He wrapped up his thought with a simple but honest message about staying true to oneself. "You've got to be yourself, whether that's good or bad, but at least you'll be yourself. Otherwise you won't even realise what you've become," he added.

Varun Dhawan and Salman Khan's connection goes back a long way

Varun and Salman share a long history rooted in Khan's close association with Varun's father, veteran filmmaker

David Dhawan

. The duo delivered several hits together, including the 1997 comedy ‘Judwaa’ and the 2007 blockbuster ‘Partner’. That connection carried forward to the next generation as well, when Varun headlined the 2017 reboot ‘Judwaa 2’, a film that paid tribute to the original, with Salman himself making a special appearance in it.