Sidharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan
Sidharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan

Over this weekend, Sidharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan stepped out to support the kids of the Ashray centre, a home for orphans, deserted children and children affected by HIV/AIDS. Designer duo Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla held a very special event at the centre, where the kids were felicitated and awarded for passing their 10th standard exams. It was a great event and the kids were absolutely adorable – they put up a skit and a song-and-dance performance, and of course were so thrilled that they got to do it front of Varun, Sid, and Abu-Sandeep. Of course, it was icing on the cake that Varun and Sid joined them for a dance performance to The Disco Song from Student of the Year. 🙂

Sidharth and Varun with the kids
Sidharth and Varun with the kids

The effort was to raise funds for Committed Communities Development Trust (CCDT), which established the Ashray centre in Bandra with the intention of it being safety net to ensure the well-being of the affected children. The likes of Karan Johar, Pinky Reddy, Poona Shroff, Sanjay Arora and Nikhil Chib also lent their support in various forms. The proceeds earned through this event have gone towards various things, such as the education, livelihood, nutrition and counseling of the child/family, as well as the overall running of the organisation.

Sandeep Khosla, Sidharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan, Abu Jani
Sandeep Khosla, Sidharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan, Abu Jani

We caught up with Sid and Varun at the event to ask them what their experience was like:

Sidharth Malhotra (SM): I felt great to see how enthusiastic and excited they were. They forget all their worries and everything they’ve been through. Excited we’re here to support them. So many of them are finishing their education and getting jobs, so hopefully they have great careers and happy, normal lives. We’re here to support them.

Varun Dhawan (VD): Sid was just telling me how we keep complaining about our worries and how petty they actually are when you see these kids and how carefree and chilled out they are. Everything that we complain about, we will not!

Sidharth and Varun with the kids
Sidharth and Varun with the kids

SM: They make our lives feel so petty and small. It’s very encouraging and endearing at the same time. Hopefully we can do our bit.

VD: Actually, we came to motivate them… and they ended up motivating us!

Sidharth and Varun with the kids
Sidharth and Varun with the kids

It’s great to see young Bollywood supporting such a great cause, and we know the children loved it as well – the smiles on their faces were huge! 🙂

Pix: Viral Bhayani for MissMalini