Varun Dhawan is an Indian actor who is popularly known as the new age Govinda. He is known for pulling off roles of various genres. Son of well-known director David Dhawan, the young actor made a promising debut in Karan Johar`s 2012 film Student Of The Year along with his contemporaries Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotra. The actor has acted in comedy, tragedy and romantic films, making his mark in the industry, and is best remembered for his performance in the crime-thriller Badlapur.

Early Life
Son of David and Karuna Dhawan, Varun was born on 24th April, 1987 in Mumbai and was brought up in a Punjabi family. Despite David Dhawan being a successful director, he wanted Varun to be an engineer or a doctor. The actor always wanted to be a wrestler and is a fan of WWE wrestler The Rock, Dwayne Johnson. It was Varun`s mother who wanted him to become an actor. His elder brother Rohit Dhawan, whom he shares a very strong bond with, is a director as well.

A bright student from the beginning, Varun completed his schooling from Bombay Scottish School and later went on to pursue business management from the Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom. After returning from England, he joined Barry John`s acting school. There, he studied with Arjun Kapoor and acted in short films, after which he started to work on his acting skills rigorously. Being a healthy kid, Varun began to transform his body and honed his physique before he was roped in for the film Student Of The Year, which released in 2012.

Personal Life
The actor was in a long-standing relationship with his childhood friend Natasha Dalal, though they made it official on social media only in 2019. Natasha is a fashion designer with her own label that specializes in wedding and bridal couture. She has a store in Mumbai`s Juhu area. Although Varun tried to keep his relationship away from the limelight, the couple was spotted on various occasions either dining or vacationing together. In January 2021, the couple tied the knot in a private ceremony in Alibaug.

Movie Career
Varun never wanted to become an actor, it was his mother who wished that he pursue acting. After joining Barry John`s acting school, he learned various aspects of filming. In 2010, while studying at the film school, he acted and worked as a co-director of photography for a short film titled White Mountain, along with Arjun Kapoor. He also wrote the story and screenplay for the same. Later, he assisted Karan Johar on the film My Name Is Khan, where he worked along with Sidharth Malhotra. At that time, Sidharth Malhotra, a successful model, was looking for a break in films. Karan Johar spotted the two young talented boys and offered them to work in his venture Student Of The Year. The film also featured Alia Bhatt, daughter of director Mahesh Bhatt. The three debuted together on the silver screen. Upon the movie`s release, Varun Dhawan came out as a promising and energetic actor, and his portrayal of Rohan Nanda, a rich brat, was much appreciated by the critics.

In 2014, he appeared in a lead role in Main Tera Hero directed by his father David Dhawan, romancing Illeana D`cruz and Nargis Fakhri. His character of Seenu was instantly compared to that of the various characters portrayed by Govinda, and was said to have the same flamboyant presence on-screen as Govinda. This was followed by Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania opposite Alia Bhatt, which was directed by Shashank Khaitan. Varun Dhawan won the Stardust Award in 2014 for Best Actor - Comedy/Romance.

His career best performance came with his 2015 release Badlapur, directed by Sriram Raghavan. The story of lost love and revenge gripped the audience along with the Varun`s characters` rugged look and he established himself as a serious actor. In the year 2015, Varun Dhawan had two releases - ABCD 2 opposite Shraddha Kapoor, and Dilwale. ABCD 2, a hardcore dance-centric film directed by choreographer Remo D`souza, proved Varun`s prowess as a dancer. Even though the film was not appreciated much by the critics, the actor swayed the audience off with his chiseled body and good looks. The Rohit Shetty directed Dilwale, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Kriti Sanon and Varun Dhawan, made a mark with mixed reviews.

Varun Dhawan`s 2016 projects include Dishoom, which is directed by his brother Rohit Dhawan and stars John Abraham, Jacqueline Fernandez, and Akshaye Khanna. In 2017, the actor featured opposite Alia Bhatt in the romantic comedy film Badrinath Ki Dulhania, which turned out to be a huge blockbuster hit. Varun`s other release in 2017 includes the action comedy film Judwaa 2 in a double role as twins opposite Jacqueline Fernandez and Taapsee Pannu, under the direction of his father David Dhawan. His 2018 release includes Sui Dhaaga - Made In India. His 2020 release includes Street Dancer 3, directed by Remo D`Souza and Coolie No 1 directed by David Dhawan. His other notable works include Jugjugg Jeeyo (2022), Bhediya (2022) and Bawaal (2023).