David Dhawan Hits Back At Critics

While  Mumbai critics have their  own smirking take on David Dhawan’s  Judwaa 2 , the audience seems to be enjoying every minute of Varun Dhawan’s raillery and  tomfoolery.

When I catch up with David  a  day after the  release(and the largely scathing  reviews) he laughs dismissively at the derisive reviews. “Let the critics have their fun .God bless them. They are so cut off from the Real India.If they were right and  I was wrong I would not be making films any more. I’d have been booed  out of the business by now.”

But here he is, the super-prolific filmmaker who began  his directorial career in 1989 with the Govinda-SanjayDutt starrer Taqatwar. “Judwaa 2 is my 45^th film…need I say anything more? To those out there who want to know why I don’t change my style of on-screen comedy my argument is simple: chalti gadi ka bonnet nahinkholte(you don’t open the bonnet of a moving car). When my so-called formula  is  being accepted so wholeheartedly why would I want  to change my style of filmmaking? Every filmmaker has a signature stamp that you see in all his films.Would you ask have asked the late Manmohan Desai to change his pattern of filmmaking in spite of all his films being a success?”

David considers  himself Manmohan Desai’s biggest disciple. “I learnt everything that I know about filmmakingfrom Manmohan Desai. He was  mentor and guru. I  owe  my career to him. If I’ve  lasted so long it’s because of  his teaching and blessings.”

David  reveals that the first Judwaa starring Salman Khan when it was released in 1997 was also trashed by  critics. “Not a single  review praised Judwaa . Now critics are calling  it a classic while trashing Judwaa 2. So  maybe when I make Judwaa 3 they will change their opinion about Judwaa 2.”