Before becoming one of Bollywood’s most bankable stars, Varun Dhawan had a very different debut in mind. In a candid revelation, the Baby John actor shared that his initial career plan wasn’t to start in the Indian film industry, but to make a high-profile Hollywood debut under the direction of legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg.
During a discussion in the latest episode of Be A Man, Yaar!, Varun admitted that during his formative years, he was deeply enamored by Western cinema and harbored dreams of a global platform. “I actually planned a Hollywood debut,” he stated, reflecting on his younger self’s audacity to envision a launch by a filmmaker of Spielberg’s stature. The actor noted that he was quite serious about this path before the realities of the industry and his roots eventually shifted his focus back to India.
Despite these international aspirations, Varun’s journey led him to a massive debut at home. While his father, veteran director David Dhawan, is a master of the “masala” genre, Varun ultimately stepped into the spotlight under Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions with Student of the Year. He discussed how he initially felt he belonged on a global stage, but finding his footing in Hindi cinema allowed him to connect with a domestic audience first.
The revelation comes at a time when several of Varun’s contemporaries are successfully crossing over into international projects. While he has remained focused on the Indian box office with a mix of commercial and experimental roles like Badlapur and Bhediya, his early interest in Hollywood suggests that his cinematic ambitions have always been global in scale.