There was a time when a comedy film in Bollywood almost guaranteed one thing — David Dhawan behind the camera. Through the 90s and early 2000s, the filmmaker ruled commercial Hindi cinema with loud entertainers, chaotic comedy and massive crowd-pulling stars. From Govinda to Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar, almost every major actor wanted to work with him during that phase. But things changed quietly after a series of box office disappointments, and now the veteran director has openly spoken about how that difficult period affected his standing in the industry.
During a recent interaction at the David Dhawan Film Festival organised by PVR INOX, the filmmaker admitted that actors slowly became hesitant to collaborate with him once his films stopped performing well commercially. After the success of Partner in 2007, David directed films like Do Knot Disturb and Rascals, but neither managed to create the same excitement among audiences. According to him, the atmosphere around him in Bollywood had started changing, and he could sense stars pulling away because producers and actors both became nervous about backing unsuccessful directors.
Instead of chasing big celebrities again, David decided to change direction completely. The filmmaker revealed that this frustration eventually pushed him toward making Chashme Baddoor in 2013 with mostly fresh faces. The remake featured actors like Taapsee Pannu, Divyendu Sharma, Siddharth and Ali Zafar at a time when none of them were major commercial stars. David even recalled convincing late actor Rishi Kapoor to appear in the film despite having a relatively small role.
David Dhawan Says Working With Stars Became Exhausting
The filmmaker surprisingly admitted that he wanted to break free from the constant pressure that comes with handling major stars. According to David, if a director has a solid script, strong scenes and entertaining music, newcomers can also carry a film effectively. He explained that working with stars often brings interference during filmmaking, and handling multiple established actors together becomes mentally exhausting after a point. His comments quickly grabbed attention online because very few mainstream Bollywood directors openly speak about the power dynamics between stars and filmmakers in public conversations.
Though Chashme Baddoor did not become a major critical or commercial success, the film still marked an important shift in David Dhawan’s career. The director eventually bounced back strongly with Main Tera Hero and later Judwaa 2, both featuring his son Varun Dhawan. Their father-son collaboration ended up reviving David’s commercial success once again, especially among younger audiences who had grown up watching his earlier entertainers on television.
David Dhawan Now Returns With a New Comedy Entertainer
The film festival celebrating David Dhawan’s cinematic journey also acted as a launch platform for his upcoming movie Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai. The comedy stars Varun Dhawan alongside Mrunal Thakur and Pooja Hegde, and the film is scheduled to release in theatres on June 5. Industry circles are already watching closely to see whether the veteran filmmaker can recreate the old-school comedy magic that once made him one of Bollywood’s biggest hit machines.
Even today, David Dhawan’s style of loud commercial comedy remains deeply connected with a generation of Hindi cinema audiences. But his latest comments also revealed the less glamorous side of Bollywood, where success decides relationships very quickly and failure can suddenly make even the biggest filmmakers feel isolated.
