‘Before
I
shot
a
big
rain
fight
in
Kerala,
Atlee
called
and
warned
me,
‘If
you
don’t
want
to
do
a
stunt,
don’t
do
it.’
He
said
the
same
thing
to
Kalees.’
‘Later
he
told
me
that
he
was
worried
we
both
are
mad,
so
he
wanted
us
to
be
careful
and
not
do
crazy
things.’
‘But
that
did
not
stop
Kalees,
obviously.
He
hung
me
for
six
hours,
upside
down,
he
made
me
ride
a
horse
at
5
am
and
a
lot
more
torture.’
“It
is
important
to
have
a
strong
backing,
even
in
today’s
environment,
if
you
want
to
release
a
film
because
only
larger-than-life
films
are
coming
nowadays.
After
55
days,
a
Hindi
film
is
going
to
release,
we
need
your
support
here,”
Varun
Dhawan
tells
the
audience,
as
he
promotes
his
new
film
Baby
John
in
Mumbai.
“I
have
always
wanted
to
release
films
in
Christmas.
It
is
a
time
when
children
love
watching
films,
they
like
going
out.
We
had
to
really
fight
to
get
this
date
because
historically,
Aamir
(Khan)
sir
used
to
release
his
films
on
this
date.
We
are
thankful
to
Aamir
sir
that
he
has
given
us
this
date.”
Jawan
Director
Atlee
produces
Baby
John,
which
has
been
directed
by
his
former
assistant
Kalees,
who
makes
his
Bollywood
debut.
Newlywed
Keerthy
Suresh
and
Wamiqa
Gabbi
also
star
in
the
film.
Rajesh
Karkera,
Patcy
N,
Afsar
Dayatar,
Hemant
Shivsharan
report
from
the
venue.
Producers
Atlee
Kumar
and
his
wife
Krishna
Priya,
Keerthy
Suresh
and
Varun
Dhawan.
Photograph:
Rajesh
Karkera/Rediff.com
“I
just
want
all
the
press
to
congratulate
Keerthy
Suresh
here.
She
is
newly
married,
our
new
bride
has
come
here
in
Mumbai,”
Varun
teases
Keerthy,
who
got
married
last
week.
Keerthy
replies,
“Varun
told
me
backstage
that
he
was
going
to
embarrass
me!”
Varun
banters
back:
“I
don’t
want
to
be
the
only
married
actor.
Now,
we
both
are.”
Keerthy
plays
Meera
Verma
in
Baby
John,
which
is
a
Hindi
adaptation
of
the
Tamil
hit,
Theri,
starring
Vijay,
Samantha
and
Amy
Jackson.
“This
is
one
of
my
favourite
characters,”
she
says.
“Priya,
Atlee
and
I
have
been
friends
for
a
very
long
time
but
this
is
the
first
time
I
got
to
work
with
them.
Hopefully,
next
time
I
will
work
in
his
directorial,
not
just
his
production.”
Talking
about
her
co-star
she
says,
“Varun’s
energy
is
great,
he
is
a
great
actor,
but
I
feel
this
time
in
Baby
John,
you
will
see
a
very
different
Varun.
I
am
very
excited
for
him.”
Wamiqa
seemed
quite
impressed
by
Atlee,
as
she
said,
“In
my
first
meeting
with
Atlee
sir,
he
inspired
me
about
how
important
it
is
to
be
a
good
person.
Even
in
our
film,
you
will
see
that’s
the
main
focus
—
how
important
it
is
to
be
a
good
person
and
have
a
good
upbringing.”
Watch:
“The
love
I
feel
from
her…
how
do
you
have
so
much
love
in
your
heart?”
Varun
Dhawan
has
a
quick
word
with
Zara
Zyanna,
who
plays
his
daughter
in
Baby
John.
Photograph:
Rajesh
Karkera/Rediff.com
Khalees
had
assisted
Atlee
during
Jawan
and
got
a
chance
to
work
with
Shah
Rukh
Khan.
“Jawan
is
a
great
experience
for
me.
I
was
the
second
unit
director,
and
I
got
the
opportunity
to
work
with
legends
like
Shah
Rukh
Khan
sir.”
Watch:
“The
working
style
of
the
south
and
north
is
totally
different,
the
way
we
talk
is
different
but…”
Did
you
know
Varun
got
ragged
by
Keerthy
and
Wamiqa
on
the
sets?
Watch:
“Yeh
toh
gundi
hai.”
Varun
shares
the
feedback
he
got
from
Zara:
“‘Why
are
you
taking
so
many
takes?
Do
it
quickly.’
If
the
emotion
is
not
real,
they
don’t
connect
because
they
don’t
know
the
difference
between
acting
and
real
life.
Whatever
emotion
they
show,
they
show
it
100
per
cent.’
“For
Zara,
every
emotion
had
to
be
real
for
her
to
feel
it.
Whether
it
was
giving
cues
or
the
way
we
would
talk
in
the
scene,
the
way
we
would
communicate
with
each
other.
She’s
a
very
spontaneous
actor
and
does
a
lot
of
comedy
too.
She’s
the
star
of
the
film.”
Photograph:
Rajesh
Karkera/Rediff.com
Zara
Zyanna
plays
Varun’s
daughter
in
the
film,
and
he
felt
very
protective
about
her
especially
when
the
fog
machine
scared
her.
Has
fatherhood
changed
him?
“Since
childhood,
I
have
enjoyed
playing
with
children.
Even
when
I
did
films
early
in
my
career,
I
would
make
sure
that
whatever
content
I
am
putting
out,
kids
should
be
able
to
watch
these
films.”
Watch:
“I
want
to
make
films
that
children
can
watch
and
enjoy”
Baby
John
packs
in
a
lot
of
action,
and
Varun
says,
“The
kind
of
action
we
did
in
Baby
John
is
not
usually
what
we
do
here.
Our
action
directors,
Anal
Arasu
sir,
Yannick
Ben,
Stunt
Silva…
are
a
mix
of
international
and
Indian
stunt
masters.
“Before
I
shot
a
big
rain
fight
in
Kerala,
Atlee
called
and
warned
me,
‘If
you
don’t
want
to
do
a
stunt,
don’t
do
it.’
He
said
the
same
thing
to
Kalees.
Later
he
told
me
that
he
was
worried
we
both
are
mad,
so
he
wanted
us
to
be
careful
and
not
do
crazy
things.
“But
that
did
not
stop
Kalees,
obviously.
He
hung
me
for
six
hours,
upside
down,
he
made
me
ride
a
horse
at
5
am
and
a
lot
more
torture.”
Atlee
is
all
praise
for
Varun,
Keerthy,
Wamiqa
and
Kalees,
and
says,
“Varun
was
so
sweet
and
outstanding
in
the
film.
I
think
he
has
really
pushed
his
heart
limit
to
give
his
maximum
to
the
film.”
Watch:
“I’m
sure
Varun
is
going
to
make
you
all
cry”
Varun
discusses
his
chart-buster
song,
Nain
Mataka,
with
Diljit
Dosanjh
and
says,
“Working
with
Diljitpaaji
was
very
nice.
I
think
the
whole
of
India
loves
him,
the
way
he’s
entertaining
us
through
his
tours.
“Honestly,
it
just
took
one
request.
I
just
asked
him
once.
I
sent
him
(Music
Director)
Thaman’s
song
and
he
really
liked
it.
He
said,
I
would
love
to
work
with
Atlee
sir,
I
would
love
to
sing
for
you.
It
was
a
dream
to
work
with
Diljit,
so
easy.
“I
think
he’s
in
a
spiritual
place.
He’s
an
artist
who’s
very
pure.
The
way
he
entertains
people
is
so
beautiful
to
see.
I
am
going
to
be
his
co-star
soon
in
Border
2.”
Watch:
“We
should
not
forget
the
Bible
of
Hindi
Cinema”
More
pictures
from
the
event:
