I saw a hungry actor in Varun Dhawan: director Sriram Raghvan

Varun Dhawan's morally ambiguous turn in 'Badlapur' startled many but director Sriram Raghvan says he chose the actor for his enthusiasm and hunger as a performer.
"It was a risk for Varun but not for me. For me, he was just an enthusiastic and hungry actor. It was a bold script and I am sure a lot of people would have advised him against it. He has played a morally ambiguous character. Normally, mainstream actors shy away from complex roles but I am happy he took up the challenge," Raghvan told PTI in an interview.
Varun and Nawazuddin Siddiqui were pitted against each other in the twisted revenge saga that found acceptance from the audience despite an unusual ending.

"In a revenge story, you root for the hero to take revenge and that's what you wait for. 'Badlapur' questions that. The design was such that the good guy starts to become a monster while the bad guy starts to get your empathy," he says.
Siddiqui has been hailed for giving the movie some of its finest moments as Laik and Raghvan reveals that the actor was always the first choice for the part.
"He is fantastic in the movie. When I was writing the film, I was thinking about this character and Nawaz came to my mind. I called the character Nawaz while writing it. Having him in the mind helped me track the character. But he took it to another level with his performance."

Raghvan, known for telling gritty and dark stories like 'Ek Hasina Thi' and 'Johnny Gaddaar', says he wanted to do something bold after the failure of his last outing, Saif Ali Khan-starrer 'Agent Vinod'.
"I was disheartened when 'Agent Vinod' did not do well. I was reading a lot of things on the Internet and came across this story. I wanted to do something that was real and had heart. I did not want to spend money or time on a wrong thing. It is a contained story, edgy and risky but not without appeal.