Varun Dhawan's restrained performance fuelled Shoojit Sircar's October. On Monday Masala

Varun Dhawan's restrained performance in October powered the 2018 Shoojit Sircar film. October turns four tomorrow.

Varun Dhawan is the quintessential Bollywood hero. He made a safe debut with Karan Johar's Student Of The Year (2012), made his fans laugh with his Govinda-like comedy in films like Mein Tear Hero, Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, Coolie No 1 and showed off some muscle in Dishoom, Badlapur and more. All the masala entertainers made Varun a star, but it was Shoojit Sircar's 2018 film October that established him as an actor. In this week's Monday Masala, we will discuss how Varun's subtle performance in October left an indelible mark on his career and changed the way the audience sees him. October starts with a fidgety Dan (Varun Dhawan), a 21-year-old hotel management trainee. He is clumsy at work, angry at rude customers and largely irritated with everyone around him. Dan's demeanour shows that he yearns to be much more, but we never see him put in an effort to achieve that more. He is chided by bosses and lectured by friends, who want him to act responsibly and fall in line. But nothing works with Dan, until a friend and colleague, Shiuli, has a freak accident that lands her in a hospital, and she slips into a coma.