Varun Dhawan opens up about smile memes and online trolling

11 June,2026 12:08 PM IST |  Mumbai  |  IANS

Varun Dhawan praised Rakhi Sawant as a pop-culture icon during an appearance on comedian Tanmay Bhat`s show. The actor also opened up about being trolled for his smile and revealed that father David Dhawan once wanted to include a joke about it in a film

Varun Dhawan and Rakhi Sawant. Pics/Yogen Shah


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Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan is a fan of Rakhi Sawant. The actor recently appeared on comedian Tanmay Bhat's show, and called Rakhi, an icon, who has become a part of pop-culture.

During the episode of the show, the actor along with others saw an Internet meme showing an installation at a music concert, which resembled Rakhi Sawant.

The actor said, "She's a part of pop culture now. I think she's an icon. And seeing her, I think a lot of people have copied her. A lot of people try to copy her but obviously, there's one Rakhi Sawant".

Elsewhere during the episode, the actor shared how his father David Dhawan roasted him. The director also wanted the audience to enjoy the joke at his son's expense by using the joke in his film but eventually didn't use it.

When asked if he anticipated being trolled for his smile, Varun said, "No, I thought I would be made fun of because of something else. I never thought anyone would make fun of this. I thought there are so many things (for which he could be trolled) like my voice, for instance. I would literally sound like an 8-year-old girl, initially. That's what my brother used to tell me, when I made my debut, I thought voice, height, bad acting, etc. I didn't think the smile was so bad".

However, the actor turned out to be a good sport, as he appreciated the jokes around his smile, as he said, "I think after a while, it became funny. It actually became funny for me. I found the biscuit one very funny".

He then went on to reveal how his father came up with the idea to make fun of his smile.

"There's a joke in my new film, which my dad wanted to do to me. But then eventually he didn't do it. It was supposed to be a scene where I have kids, and their smile is same as mine. I was like, ‘Why do you want to do that?. He said, ‘No, no, let's do it. People will laugh at you", he added.

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