Badlapur (2015)

Trigger warnings for violence and r*pe in the movie.  

There was such an honesty about Varun's acting in this movie that I was not surprised at all when I read later that he went into a depressive phase while and after shooting for it, and that his character made him look at the world with a completely different perspective. And honestly, it made me look at things differently too- concepts like justice, and right and wrong. 

This was also the second movie that Varun had signed right after Student of the Year (2012) and when he asked Sriram Raghavan (god bless that man and keep him healthy and happy) why him, the latter replied that there was an innocence in the former's eyes that the character needed. After reading that, I realised what a game changer his eyes had been- all the pent up trauma, rage, love, innocence, everything was expressed through them, which made the movie feel more personal. Even the way Varun looks at people in the movie was significant- what I mean to say is that I was so invested that I couldn't help noticing everything he did and keeping my eyes on him so that I didn't miss out on anything. Now I had entered this movie with low expectations (by Sriram sir's standards, not by objective standards) because I knew very little about Varun's acting, but the boy surprised me and won my heart with this performance. There was no easy answer to the film's central dilemma, and it is reflected in the way he acted. A lot depended on him too, as it his primarily his story that we are allowed into, and I am both relieved and glad that he did a good job.

In conclusion- Sriram Raghavan's brain!!!!!! And PLEASE LET THE RUMOURS OF HIS NEXT MOVIE WITH MY BABY VJS BE TRUE THANKS. 

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