From Bhediya to October Decoding Varun Dhawanâs outstanding performances that made everyone go gaga

Varun Dhawan is someone we know who has been in the Bollywood industry for quite a while now. Today, on April 24, the actor celebrates his 36th birthday today.

Last year, we saw him putting his all into Dinesh Vijan’s horror-comedy universe where he played the titular character of Bhediya. Varun as Bhediya was not something we as an audience expected from him after his comedy-drama JugJugg Jeeyo. Varun in Bhediya was everything that we wanted from a werewolf comedy film, and he just raised his bar high with his fantastic performance.

Varun Dhawan

In Bhediya, Varun Dhawan stars as Bhaskar, a cunning but good-natured contractor who arrives in rural Arunachal Pradesh to facilitate the smooth takeover of tribal lands for a massive construction project. the Bhasker is selfish and just wants the construction project to be completed as soon as possible and by all means, even if it is against the Tribal people’s beliefs or nature itself. In the tribal region, he discovers a mystical wolf-like creature who seems to be guarding the forest lands against encroachment and pillaging. But when he turns into a werewolf, he is comedic, and funny but is also trying to understand what is happening to him. He gets help from his friends Jomin, Dr Anika and cousin Janardan Banerjee (Jana). Being an animal, he realises the importance and beauty of nature and also learns that his friend Dr Anika is in fact the werewolf who turned him into one as well.

But, this is not the first time Varun Dhawan has left us in surprise with his acting. Varun started his acting career in 2012 with Karan Johar’s Student of the Year (SOTY) alongside Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotra. 

Varun Dhawan


As Rohan Nanda in Student of the Year, Varun played the teenage son of a rich businessman who competes with his girlfriend and best friend to win the school championship. He was both comical, ‘ameer baap ka beta,’ vulnerable at the same time and nailed his character making him stand out in the film.

After SOTY, Varun was seen in his father David Dhawan’s romantic comedy film Main Tera Hero, a remake of the Telugu film Kandireega, alongside Nargis Fakhri and Illeana D’cruz. Varun plays the role of Sreenath ‘Seenu’ Prasad, a naughty, happy-go-lucky guy who is hated by almost everyone in his town but is unapologetic about how he does things. After he decides to move to Bengaluru to study, he falls in love with Sunaina. But, she is engaged to a police officer who has anger management problems. For the most part of the film, he is trying to outwit the cop and his partner. Before, the interval we get to know that Ayesha, the daughter of the biggest gangster of ‘Asia and Africa’ has fallen in love with Seenu and desperately wants to possess him.

Varun as Seenu is amazing with outstanding comedic timings and witty performance, making the whole film belong to him.

Varun Dhawan

In 2015, we saw Varun in a changed character where he left everyone surprised and thrilled by his portrayal of Raghu in Sriram Raghavan’s Badlapur. Badlapur is all and all Varun Dhawan, which follows Raghu who is walking a fine line between good and evil as he exacts violent vengeance on two criminals who murdered his family 15 years ago. Varun’s portrayal of Raghu is nothing short of remarkable, with his character changing from a loving father to a cold-blooded killer. For his performance, Varun was nominated for Best Actor at the Filmfare Awards.

In the same year, he acted alongside Shraddha Kapoor in the dance-themed movie ABCD 2. His role in the film was based on the true story of Suresh Mukund, the creator of Kings United, who originated from Mumbai and succeeded in winning the 2012 World Hip Hop Dance Championship. Varun’s amazing dance moves and his portrayal of Suresh were something refreshing to watch on-screen. His chemistry with Shraddha Kapoor in the song ‘Sunn Saathiya’ makes the dance more appealing. His solo performance in ‘Chunar’ makes the audience understand his character better.

Varun Dhawan

Later in 2017, we saw Varun starring alongside Alia Bhatt in Shashank Khaitan’s romantic comedy Badrinath Ki Dulhania, in which he played the titular character Badrinath Bansal aka Badri, a typical young and uneducated man from a wealthy household Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh. He is patriarchal by nature but has a change in attitude and starts respecting women when his fiance Vaidehi Trivedi runs away from their wedding to achieve her dream to be an independent person. Varun’s performance as Badri was spectacular where his comedic timing, chemistry, anger and emotional scenes just made us move and love his character as he transforms into an understanding character.

After this, we saw Varun’s outstanding performance in his two releases of 2018. First in Shoojit Sircar’s October and later in Sharat Katariya’s social problem film Sui Dhaaga. In October written by Juhi Chaturvedi, we saw Varun play the role of Danish Walia, a hotel management trainee with no clear direction in life. The plot takes a turn when Danish’s colleague falls into a coma, and his life goes through a series of transformations.

Varun Dhawan Bhediya October

Considered as Dhawan’s most memorable performance, October makes you understand Dan’s anxiousness, his worry for Shiuli, and how he falls in love with her. His performance is so brilliant that just by seeing his face you understand the complicated human feels and his pain of losing Shiuli.

Varun Dhawan

Later, in Sui Dhaga: Made in India, Varun Dhawan played the role of Mauji, a skilled tailor who faces numerous challenges as he sets out to start his own business with the help of his wife Mamta, played by Anushka Sharma. The film tells a heartwarming story of perseverance and determination, showcasing the struggles of ordinary people trying to make a better life for themselves. Varun’s portrayal of Mauji was authentic, real and sincerer. His chemistry with Anushka Sharma was also something that won our hearts.

In 2022, he starred alongside Kiara Advani, Anil Kapoor and Neetu Singh in comedy-drama JugJugg Jeeyo. His portrayal as Kuldeep Saini (Kukoo) added life to the complex character. Also, his chemistry with Anil Kapoor and Kiara Advani was praiseworthy.

See Also: Top 9 performances by Varun Dhawan