Our Bureau
Mumbai
In the glare of social media trolling and box‑office expectations, Bollywood’s latest war epic Border 2 has emerged not just as a commercial success, but as a personal milestone for Varun Dhawan. At the film’s success press conference in Mumbai, the actor revealed how a late‑night phone call from Salman Khan helped him weather the storm of online criticism and ultimately redefined his confidence as a performer.
Ahead of Border 2’s release on January 23, 2026, Varun found himself at the receiving end of relentless trolling, especially over his smile in the trailer. Netizens questioned whether the star known for romantic comedies could carry the weight of a serious war drama alongside Sunny Deol, Diljit Dosanjh and Ahan Shetty. But Varun says he chose to “not take it very seriously,” leaning instead on his family and faith.
The turning point, he says, came when Salman Khan reached out at night during the peak of the backlash. “I got a call from Salman bhai at night and he was just laughing. He told me, ‘Good things are about to come,’” Varun recalled. “His belief meant a lot to me.” After the film opened to strong reviews and collections, Salman called again, this time at around 2 am. “He said he was so happy for all of us,” Varun shared. “Then he said something that stays very close to my heart: ‘I am proud of you, beta.’ I stood up on my bed after hearing it. That was a very defining moment for me because he doesn’t praise people easily.”
For Varun, the journey of Border 2, from hospitalisation of his father, David Dhawan, during the shoot to the tide of online abuse, has turned into a story of resilience. “When such real things happen in life, then what is trolling? It is nothing,” he said. With Salman’s words echoing in the background, Varun now looks back at the film not just as a box‑office hit, but as a chapter that reshaped his self‑belief.
