This week's release Badrinath Ki Dulhania is Varun Dhawan's eighth film since his debut in 2012. The actor has given a mix of films, both in terms of genre and box office success. Interestingly though, he has been able to build his popularity base inch-by-inch in these 4.5 years.
The chart below shows the growth in Varun Dhawan's popularity since his October 2012 debut till the end of 2016, based on Ormax Stars India Loves, a 56-city survey covering an annual sample size of 62,400 cine-goers. There hasn't been a blip in the growth curve, not even when Dilwale received weak audience response and Dhawan didn't have a release for seven months after that. His popularity continues to grow, and should reach a new high with Badrinath Ki Dulhania.
The Popularity Index is based on the Ormax Star India Loves research