3 min readMumbaiJun 7, 2026 12:24 PM IST
Varun Dhawan has opened up about the emotional realities of stardom, saying that many actors struggle with loneliness despite their glamorous public image. He also emphasised the importance of staying true to oneself, citing Salman Khan’s candid social media posts as an example of authenticity.
“Actors’ lives are very lonely. Ninety percent of actors are very lonely,” said Varun. But he pointed out that having been aware of that reality since the start of his career, he never bothered to manufacture an alternate public personality for himself. The actor claimed that he’s tried to be his most authentic self, whether he’s in front of the camera or not, right from his debut film, Karan Johar’s 2012 hit campus caper Student of the Year.
“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 told Bombay Times.
The actor recalled how he was even more uninhibited and unfiltered in the interviews early on in his career. “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 added.
Varun Dhawan then quoted the example of Salman Khan, who’s been in the news recently for sharing his pictures on his Instagram handle late at night with the most unhinged captions. “When I see Salman bhai‘s posts at night, he’s going into another zone only,” said Varun, laughing. “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 and Salman go back a long way. Salman has worked extensively with Varun’s father and veteran filmmaker David Dhawan, from their 1997 hit comedy Judwaa to their 2007 blockbuster buddy comedy Partner. Varun has also starred in David’s 2017 comedy Judwaa 2, a reboot of the Salman-starrer, where the latter also had a cameo.
Last month, Salman Khan took to his Instagram handle late at night to share happy selfies. But the captions told a different story. He warned the paparazzi to not take advantage of his and his loved ones’ misery. He claimed that he wouldn’t think twice about the fate of his upcoming film, Apoorva Lakhia’s military drama Maatrubhumi if the photographers decide to invade his privacy.
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Earlier in the night, Salman was visibly livid when the paparazzi shouted and clicked pictures of him while he exited a hospital after meeting the wife of his friend, who was gravely ill. Salman immediately lashed out at photographers, so much so that the paparazzi collectively apologized to him the next evening, when he showed up to attend the success party of Riteish Deshmukh’s period war drama Raja Shivaji, in which he had a cameo.
