Director Shashank Khaitan’s influence on Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor runs deep, shaping their craft, confidence, and collaboration. Janhvi traces her acting roots back to her first feature, Dhadak, under Shashank’s mentorship.
EXCLUSIVE: Varun Dhawan on Shashank Khaitan: “He pushes me to be my best version!”
In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Janhvi said, “My first film was with Shashank… the foundation of everything I know with my craft is all because of him. His approach is always about intention, ‘What’s your intention in the scene, what’s your intention when you’re making the film?’ I really like and respect that approach. He treats me like a kid.”
She warmly recalled, “In Dhadak he felt like he was running a daycare centre because me and Ishan were a little hard to control. Now I’ve become a little more mature, but he still treats me like a kid many times.”
For Varun, collaborating with Shashank is pure joy, “He gives me that freedom, it’s all credit to him as a director. He truly, truly pushes me to be the best version of myself and makes me so secure that in a film that has so many people, Shashank is one of the first people to explain to me that you have to make people shine in your film, it’s about the film. He always taught me, ‘You have to make everyone shine in your film and then the film will come through.’ He is one of my favourite collaborations I have ever had.”
Their candid conversation underscores how enduring mentorship and friendship empower actors to reach their full potential, making for stronger performances and even better films.
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