For Varun Dhawan, a film award ceremony should be about the people who make cinema possible, not the stars in front of the camera. The actor brought up the lack of recognition for technicians at Bollywood award shows during the IIFA 2027 press meet in Mumbai on Thursday. As he prepares to host the awards, Varun said he wants the upcoming ceremony to put films and the people behind them in the spotlight.
“I feel today at film awards we talk about everything but films. We are here to celebrate films, actors, performances and technicians. I am a technician’s son. I always feel that we don’t give the same respect to technicians as we used to give them.” Varun said, with reference to Hindustan Times.
The actor was speaking at the official launch of IIFA 2027. Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor and Rashmika Mandana were present at the press meet.
Salman, who was on stage with Varun, responded to his comments saying that the situation has changed. Varun agreed and credited Salman for ensuring that technicians get more recognition at this year’s event.
“Now it gets more credit. This time Salman bhai has made sure it gets honoured.”
Varun will host the 27th IIFA Weekend and Awards along with Ananya Pandey, Karan Johar and Manish Paul. The actor also spoke about his approach to hosting, saying that he wants the event to stay focused on cinema rather than getting caught up in everything else.
“We will make sure that IIFA 2027 is only about films. We have to bring it back to films. I have to be a bit more blunt and honest this time,” he said.
Before playing the role, Varun also took advice from Salman. Superstar, who is known for hosting reality shows Big BossThere was a short answer to that.
“Don’t host. Six hours go into hosting. The best is to perform and leave,” said Salman.
The 2027 edition of IIFA will feature performances by Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Janhvi Kapoor.
The 27th IIFA Weekend and Awards is scheduled for January 22 and 23, 2027. The ceremony will honor the best Hindi films to be released during the 2026 calendar year.