Comedian Tanmay Bhat decided to have some fun at actor Varun Dhawan’s expense, taking a playful jab at the actor’s recent box office track record while talking about the roaring success of Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar franchise. And the actor responded in a way no one saw coming.
Tanmay Bhat roasts Varun Dhawan
Recently, Varun made an appearance on Tanmay’s YouTube channel for a fun-filled video that quickly grabbed attention online. Joining the actor in the episode were fellow comedians Rohan Joshi, Piyush Sharma, and Zakir Khan.
It was during one of the conversations in the video that Tanmay took a playful dig at Varun’s box office track record. Drawing comparisons with the blockbuster success of Ranveer’s Dhurandhar franchise, the comedian roasted the actor.
“The amount of hard work you are putting in promoting the film (Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai) is commendable because it takes some kind of optimism to work this hard to get 1% of Dhurandhar box office numbers,” Tanmay joked.
To this, Varun laughed and said, “I think post Dhurandhar we are living with this weight ki bhai hum bhi kuch na kuch karle (brother, we also have to do something).”
Dhurandhar was released in theatres on December 5, 2025, and Dhurandhar 2 on March 19 this year. Dhurandhar Part 1 and Dhurandhar: The Revenge were both directed by Aditya Dhar. The first film collected over ₹1307 crore worldwide, while the second film collected over ₹1,812 crore worldwide, as per Sacnilk. It became the second-highest-grossing Indian film ever, behind only Aamir Khan’s Dangal. Together, the franchise has collected over ₹3000 crore. The franchise starred Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, R Madhavan, Sara Arjun, Rakesh Bedi in pivotal roles.
Varun’s recent project
Varun was most recently seen in Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai, which was released on June 5. Helmed by David Dhawan, the romantic comedy film also stars Mrunal Thakur and Pooja Hegde in lead roles along with Rakesh Bedi, Jimmy Shergill, Maniesh Paul, Mouni Roy and others in key roles. The film received mixed reviews from the critics upon release.
The comedy drama took a single-digit start at the domestic box office (under ₹10 crore net on day 1), making it one of Varun Dhawan’s lowest openings ever. Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai earned ₹7.50 crore net on day 1 in India. This is lower than Varun’s previous solo releases – Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari ( ₹10 crore) and Baby John ( ₹11.25 crore). In fact, barring October and Main Tera Hero, no Varun Dhawan film has taken such a low opening. Varun made his debut with Student of the Year, and went on to feature in projects such as Judwaa 2, Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, Badrinath Ki Dulhania, Dilwale, ABCD 2, Sui Dhaaga and Badlapur.
