Shikhar Dhawan in a no-holds-barred conversation with DNA on his new show Dhawan Karenge and more
Shikhar Dhawan has been a cricketer for two decades now, having represented India at the under-19 level and then the senior level. The veteran cricketer has now ventured into a completely different field – being a talk show host. His maiden show, Dhawan Karenge, premiered on JioCinema earlier this month with Akshay Kumar as his first guest. As audiences flock to his show, the cricketer talks to DNA in an exclusive interaction.
Ask him what prompted him to turn talk show host after such a stellar cricket career, and the 39-year-old replies in his trademark dry sarcastic fashion, “I am growing old as a cricketer. There will be a time when I will have to give that up completely. So, I have to do something else. God has given me lots of talents so I thought why not try them out. I have entertained people with Instagram Reels so I thought I could bring that same energy to this concept. Pretty soon, it became a reality.”
His guests on Dhawan Karenge are a mix of Bollywood celebs like Akshay Kumar and Taapsee Pannu and his cricket colleagues such as Harbhajan Singh and Rishabh Pant. Dhawan says he did so deliberately as he did not want to limit himself to just the field of play. “I feel why should I limit myself to just one thing. If I am good at talking, why should I only talk about cricket. And everyone has seen the cricketer side of me. This show gives me a chance to show more sides of myself. I have fondness for Bollywood too. In fact, soon I would love to have political leaders on the show or big business leaders,” he says.
Dhawan, a veteran of 34 Tests, 167 ODIs, and 68 T20Is for India, says he borrowed a lot of qualities from his playing days to prepare for his new role. He explains, “I have been a cricketer for so long that it has made my self-belief very strong. Also, as a sportsperson, preparation is key. That habit also helped here. I took acting classes, worked on my pronunciation, and talking skills so that I look comfortable in front of the camera. I did all the work, whatever was required.”
Given that his show is a light-hearted chat show with banter, there are bound to be comparisons with Kapil Sharma’s iconic shows. But Dhawan says he has not tried to imitate anyone. “I love Kapil Sharma’s show and how he makes his guests laugh. That is what I want in my show too, that people laugh and my guests are at ease. It is similar to my character too. So, you see that on my show too. I am just myself here,” says the cricketer-turned-host.
Dhawan Karenge streams on JioCinema with a new episode with a new guests releasing every Monday.
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