Varun Dhawan recently reflected on the changing landscape of film marketing and social media engagement while speaking at WWP Media’s BREW 2026. During the session, the actor shared interesting behind-the-scenes anecdotes from the promotions of Badlapur and Border 2, revealing how unconventional audience engagement tactics and even internet memes ended up benefiting the films.

Varun Dhawan reveals how he turned 3500 college students into free social media promoters during Badlapur promotions

Looking back at the promotional campaign for Badlapur, Varun recalled attempting a social media strategy during a college visit in Delhi at a time when platforms like Instagram Stories and viral content culture were still evolving. “We visited college, and I had requested everyone to record me while I shared the film’s release date and post it across social media. People weren’t putting it up on their stories back then. So I requested these 3500 college students to do so, and that really translated; it doubled up to 7000 views (considering one view from one student) – so at the minimum, at least 7000 people knew my film’s release date,” shared Varun Dhawan.

The actor explained how audience participation and organic engagement played an important role in film promotions even before influencer-driven campaigns became common across the industry. Varun also spoke about the unexpected impact of internet culture and memes during the promotions of Border 2. Referring to a viral meme featuring him, the actor admitted that trolling ultimately contributed to wider online visibility for the film and its music.

“My social media numbers during Border 2 were insane. My Instagram would blow up with comments and reshares, and the same wouldn’t happen during other films. Border 2 happens to be a film for which I was trolled the most for the smile meme. Though I even got a couple of ads after that. But the amount of reshares, likes and the kind of conversation that has happened is probably because of trolling or nostalgia. But I like to believe that it also resulted in the film getting a lot of exposure,” he shared.

He further added, “The film’s song ‘Ghar Kab Aaoge’ was doing well, but my meme was attached to that song. So every time my meme went out, people would attach that song to it. This happened for free; the production wasn’t paying for it. They could have removed it because of copyright. But they chose not to remove it. The song had been going viral for a lot of weeks. It was free publicity.”

During the conversation, Varun also reflected on how audiences continue to respond strongly to content that feels authentic despite the overwhelming volume of material available online today.

On the work front, the actor is currently gearing up for the release of Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai, directed by David Dhawan. The romantic comedy also stars Pooja Hegde and Mrunal Thakur and is scheduled to release in theatres on June 5.

Also Read: Varun Dhawan’s Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai will now release on June 5, 2026