Border 2: Karan Johar reviews Sunny Deol's war drama, calls it 'sure shot winner', slams trolls targeting Varun Dhawan

Headlined by Sunny Deol, Varun Dhawan, Diljit Dosanjh, and Ahan Shetty in the leading roles, Border 2 released in the theatres this Friday on January 23, three days before India celebrates Republic Day 2026. It is a spiritual sequel of the 1997 cult classic Border, which also featured Sunny Deol and was helmed by JP Dutta. After receiving a thunderous response from the audiences, the Anurag Singh-directed war drama took a strong start at the box office and earned Rs 32.10 crore on its opening day.

Karan Johar has also highly praised Border 2 for its emotional depth and patriotic spirit. Sharing his review for the film, the Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham directot took to his Instagram Stories and wrote, "Border 2 moved me to tears in many scenes! Patriotism with a beating heart!! Sure shot WINNER."

The filmmaker also strongly hit back at online trolls, further calling out the negativity that often surrounds actors and films over social media. Without mentioning the name of Varun Dhawan, Karan highlighted how his powerful performance in Border 2 is enough to shut all gossipmongers.

In his next Instagram Story, he wrote, "Has to be said… the reason why it's called a virtual world! Real will always score and prove the noise on social media as defunct! You can troll an artist for his smile but then he laughs when the film releases to packed houses and he receives pure authentic audience love! So noisemakers and clickbait seeking content creators can do what they like...truth will always prevail." 

The post was mainly seen as Karan's befitting reply to haters and trolls who mocked Varun Dhawan for his "particular smile" ahead of the release of Border 2. For the uninitiated, a section of social media users had trolled the Badlpur actor for his smile in the Ghar Kab Aaoge song, claiming that his personality did not suit the role of a soldier, given his fun and urban image. Varun portrays Param Vir Chakra awardee Major Hoshiar Singh Dahiya in the sequel.

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