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David Dhawan reveals he was 'depressed' after Varun's 'Kalank' flopped
David Dhawan spoke about 'Kalank's failure

David Dhawan reveals he was 'depressed' after Varun's 'Kalank' flopped

May 24, 2026
11:53 am

What's the story

Filmmaker David Dhawan recently opened up about his feelings regarding the failure of the 2019 film Kalank, which starred Sanjay Dutt and Varun Dhawan. Speaking at a chat organized by PVR for the David Dhawan Film Festival, he said that the film's debacle had depressed him. "There's one film of his that didn't work, and it depressed me. Karan Johar must have sold his last shirt to make that movie! That film was Kalank," Bollywood Hungama quoted him as saying.

Director's dilemma

Dhawan asked Dutt why he did 'Kalank'

Dhawan humorously revealed that he had asked Dutt why he chose to be a part of Kalank. "I asked Sanjay Dutt, 'Tu kyun kiya yeh picture? Madhuri Dixit thi isliye?'" Dhawan said. "Sanju was very upset during that film." The drama, directed by Abhishek Varman, also starred Alia Bhatt, Sonakshi Sinha, and Aditya Roy Kapur.

Shared disappointment

Varun also disappointed by 'Kalank' failure

Varun also expressed his disappointment over Kalank's failure. "A lot of hard work was put into that film. It was the hardest we have worked on a film. Hence, we wondered why it didn't work," he said. The movie's supporting cast included Kunal Kemmu, Kiara Advani, and Pavail Gulati.

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Father-son bond

This is what Dhawan thought of 'SOTY'

Dhawan also shared his first impression of Varun's debut film, Student Of The Year (2012). He remembered Varun feeling a bit nervous but was impressed by his performance in the climax. "You've done very well," he had told Varun after watching the film. Later that night, he received a message about Varun from Amitabh Bachchan, calling him a "Lambi race ka ghoda."

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