Pinch: Tiger Shroff reacts to being called 'bikini babe' by Ram Gopal Varma

Tiger Shroff responded to mean-spirited comments made against him by Ram Gopal Varma, in an appearance on Arbaaz Khan's talk show, Pinch.

Tiger Shroff in the latest episode of Arbaaz Khan's talk show, Pinch, took on his trolls, one of whom was none other than filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma. On Pinch, which is currently in its second season, Arbaaz Khan puts celebrities in the corner by reading mean comments at them.

Tiger Shroff has established himself as one of Bollywood's most bankable action stars.

Tiger Shroff said that even before his first film released, he was compared unfavourably to his father, Jackie Shroff, and had to brave comments directed at his appearance.

Ram Gopal Varma in a series of tweets called Tiger a 'bikini babe' and wrote that he should learn 'machoism' from his father. "No one can match up to Bhidu, except Bhaijaan (Salman Khan). Tough to match up to Bruce Lee also, so sir, I think you're absolutely right," Tiger said.

Tiger admitted that he'd received a lot of hate surrounding his looks early in his career. He said in Hindi, "Before the release also, I used to be trolled a lot for my looks. People used to say, 'is he a hero or a heroine? He doesn't look like Jackie dada's son at all.' It was a deliberate move to play to my strengths." One troll said, "Aapke paas sab kuch hai, bas daadi nahi hai (You have everything, except a beard)," to which Tiger pointed at his bearded face, and said, "Yeh kya hai bhai (What's this, then)'?"

"If you're being trolled or bullied, it's only because you've made an impact. Whatever I am today, it's because of the audiences... As long I'm number one in your heart, that's what matters to me," he said.

The second season of Pinch premiered with Salman Khan as the guest. The second episode featured actor Ayushmann Khurrana. Others waiting in the wings include Ananya Panday and Farah Khan.