Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; December 25, 2017)

Varun Dhawan had a great 2017, with both his releases, Badrinath Ki Dulhania and Judwaa 2, ruling the box office. While the actor has been collecting gongs at award galas, he has also been honoured on social media. According to Twitter India’s annual ranking list, the Badlapur actor is the favourite Gen Next star for the second time in a row.

The elated actor says, “It feels great that people are talking good things about me. Twitter is a fun place if you don’t take it seriously, and I kept that in mind. I was myself on the platform. Thanks to my activities on Twitter, people could relate to me. I am always open to constructive criticism, and don’t give a damn about those who spread negativity. I even got an e-challan from the Mumbai police [for posting a picture on social media of a selfie with a fan mid-traffic]. We launched the songs and special sneak peeks of Judwaa 2 and Badrinath Ki Dulhania for my fans on Twitter, and I’m thankful that the films had a massive reach on social media.”

Shah Rukh Khan, like last year, has topped Twitter’s most talked about celebrity list. He is followed by Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar. Among the ladies, Deepika Padukone has topped the list, replacing last year’s winner Priyanka Chopra. The Piku actor is followed by Anushka Sharma, Chopra and Alia Bhatt. Sharma, who tied the knot with cricketer Virat Kolhi earlier this month, announced her marriage on Twitter. Her post has been lauded as the Golden Tweet Of The Year, as it got the maximum number of retweets.

Among the top moments of the year, Baahubali 2 and Tamil film Mersal created maximum buzz. With one million tweets in a day, Mersal topped Twitter’s conversation charts.