There has been much negativity around Varun Dhawan's acting capabilities for a long time now. Some of this stems from the fact that he is a nepo kid, but even those who are more constructive about their criticism and who look beyond this fact do not rate him as an actor. The trolls and memes about his acting capabilities reached a fever pitch following his association with Border 2, directed by Anurag Singh. Many of them called the actor out for his lack of immersion into the role of Indian Army officer, Major Hoshiar Singh. According to them, Varun's acting in the film is very similar to how he performs in his usual commercial entertainers.
However, Varun Dhawan recently embraced his critics. Speaking on Be A Man, Yaar! Season 3, the actor said that he gets a fair and balanced idea about many things, including the negativity around his work, when he talks to his friends about these.
Varun suggested that the negativity happens around his work from time to time due to the proliferation of social networking platforms. "It happened before the release of Border. I spoke to one of my friends about it. He was like, 'So what? Some of them are so funny.' He sent some of them to me, and I also started seeing it from that point of view and laughed on it because it does not mean anything or does not go anywhere and is nothing serious."
Varun said that he looked at the Border 2 trolls from the perspective of their creators as well. "I am a guy who has done only comedies. Now, when I am getting into Border, I can see from that point of view and try and understand why people are not accepting me straightaway."
The actor also underscored the fact that, despite him doing more intense roles such as the one in Badlapur and October, his comedies form people's "core memory" of what he is like as an actor. He suggested that he trusts his friends for pointing out his mistakes in case these arise in his work with honesty.
