Son of hitmaker director David Dhawan, Varun Dhawan assisted Karan Johar on My Name Is Khan before debuting in Johar's Student of the Year (2012). What followed was a remarkable streak — eleven consecutive box-office successes through 2018 — built on crowd-pleasers like Main Tera Hero, Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, Badrinath Ki Dulhania and Judwaa 2, establishing him among India's highest-paid young stars.

Dhawan has periodically stretched beyond the entertainer mould, earning acclaim as a vengeance-driven everyman in Badlapur and a quietly devoted hotel trainee in Shoojit Sircar's October. Recent years brought the creature-comedy Bhediya, the international Citadel spin-off Honey Bunny for Prime Video, and the action vehicle Baby John, with the war epic Border 2 among his upcoming projects.

Filmography Highlights

• Student of the Year (2012) — Karan Johar-launched debut
• Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014) — Hit romance with Alia Bhatt
• Badlapur (2015) — Dark revenge drama that proved his range
• Badrinath Ki Dulhania (2017) — One of his biggest romantic-comedy hits
• Judwaa 2 (2017) — Double-role blockbuster directed by his father
• October (2018) — Understated Shoojit Sircar drama; critical acclaim
• Bhediya (2022) — Werewolf comedy in the Stree horror universe
• Citadel: Honey Bunny (2024) — Indian chapter of the global Prime Video spy franchise

Image: Wikimedia Commons. Part of the Top 50 Bollywood Celebrities series. Ranking inspired by popular industry listings; profiles are original editorial content.