Mumbai, Sep 16 (IANS): Actor Varun Dhawan, known for his vibrant personality, believes it took a "mad genius" like Sriram Raghavan to present him in an intense role in "Badlapur". Otherwise, he says people had never thought that he could portray a dark character in a thriller.

"I had always wanted to do a thriller but I guess no one thought that I could ever pull it off. 'Badlapur' offered me the chance to experiment with the genre which I enjoy watching," Varun said ahead of the world television premiere of "Badlapur" on &pictures.

Having starred in "Student of the Year", "Main Tera Hero" and "Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania", Varun's role in "Badlapur" came as an image-breaker.

Talking about his transformation from a romantic hero to an action hero, the actor said: "Well, 'Badlapur' did transform me… I never looked at the role as the hero's, but just prepared for Raghu's role… I felt his pain, he is as flawed as any other human being."

He believes the director helped him push his limits for the film, which will premiere on September 20 at 8.30 p.m.

"Sriram is a mad genius who keeps looking to push the envelope and do something new. I am very lucky to have worked with a director like him so early in my career," Varun said, and added that the experience of working with Nawazuddin Siddiqui was equally enriching.

"Nawaz bhai is a gifted actor. The things we do to each other (in the film), required us to hate each other. So, the chemistry had to be little weird while we were shooting.

"However, we bonded really well while promoting the film. Nawaz bhai’s character and performance is one of the key reasons why the film worked," he said.