‘‘Acting is like great sex!”

Boys ride bikes, men ride motorcycles. It’s a simple philosophy, one that separates the studs from the colts. Now, Varun Dhawan isn’t one to horse around. Rather, he puts on his cool leather jacket and rides into the sunset with style. Girls would say he’s an aphrodisiac in motion, pumping newfound passion in their veins. The reason this boy wonder from Student Of The Year (SOTY) has grown into a macho man in the past year, is thanks to dad David Dhawan’s caned discipline on the set of Main Tera Hero. In his own words, “The energy on the set was robust and ultra masculine.”
But the heartthrob insists he’s single and is going to play hard in the mingling game. He’d rather spend his energies focussing on work and workouts. Shashank Khaitan’s Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania and Sriram Raghavan’s next untitled film are on the cards. Apart from that, he’s pumping iron inspired by the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Venice Beach hangover is just adding to his new charm. There’s a certain edgy sexiness about him. A good case of bad attitude. Varun Dhawan has swell new shades of grey and he’s not afraid of flaunting them...

Rumours of your affair with Alia Bhatt won’t fade off if you keep signing movies with her.
Yeah! They should’ve died down a long time ago. Alia is my reel-life girlfriend. People enjoyed the chemistry between us maybe because we’re so comfortable together. We know each other extremely well. I care for her like a true friend and so does she. I’ll always be there for her. Our relationship is such that we don’t even judge one another. She’s a lovely person.

There’s speculation that post SOTY, you’ve gotten back with your ex-girlfriend Natasha Dalal?
Right now, all I can say is that I’m not married and don’t have any children and that’s all that you’re going to get about my personal life. Whether you answer personal questions or dissuade them, you still get asked. I don’t want to be known as this guy who’s only talking about relationships. I realised it just makes for good writing and reading material but that’s about it. I’d rather be known for my acting.

Are you saying you’re single and ready to mingle?
I’m single but not ready to mingle. I want to take it easy right now.

What have you learnt from your past relationships?
That you shouldn’t talk on the phone too much and be connected all the time. You shouldn’t let your relationship take over your life. You need to concentrate on work as well. In the long run, the relationship suffers if you get too involved. Keeping distance is essential for your partner to understand that there’s a lot more to you. Fact is your career always demands more time than your relationships.

What do you look for in a girl?
She should be good at heart. For some strange reason, I have this notion that she should be nice to animals. I think if she’s good to animals, she’ll be good to me. I don’t want her to be from the industry and she should not be passionate about movies. I don’t want her to talk about movies only. I’d like a change and I’d want to talk to her about her work... try to get to know another world – her world! I’d want to learn something from her as well.

What kind of a boyfriend are you?
I’m the serious sort. I’m emotional and too much into ‘love’. But I’m not in the frame of mind for a relationship right now. I won’t be able to put my heart and soul into it.

What will you be doing at 70?
I’ll be working out! I love it, it’s a high. You should see this documentary called Pumping Iron by Arnold Schwarzenegger. He says body building is like sex. It’s like an orgasm. I agree about everything he said in that documentary. It actually is an adrenaline rush when you pump your biceps and it swells to a bigger size. It does something to you. Why would people make it a part of their lifestyle otherwise?

Perhaps it comes from being passionate about something you do.
Yes! For me acting is like sex too. When you’ve nailed it.