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Journalism of Courage
On the door, the letters ‘VV’ come together in a stylish emblem. The doormat at the entrance, however, is cautionary; it reads: “Go Away”. In one of the sleepy back roads of Andheri West is this sea-facing flat that has been home to actor Vijay Varma since last August. Even though the 37-year-old loves to soak in the “solitude” of this space, contrary to the writing on the mat, he has been welcoming people and receiving adulation for his riveting performance in the web-series Dahaad.
Varma has been ‘killing it’, as they say. With Dahaad, he cements this reputation with his deft portrayal as Anand Swarnakar, a teacher and family man, who lures women from lower-economic backgrounds into marriage before killing them. After over a decade in the industry, the actor has been winning hearts for essaying some of the most-talked about and disturbing on-screen characters. From playing a wide-eyed cop wary of pulling the trigger on a criminal, in his debut Monsoon Shootout (2013) to becoming a street-smart mechanic-cum-drug peddler Moeen in Gully Boy (2019); gangster Sasya in She (2020); and alcoholic and abusive husband Hamza in Darlings (2022), the Hyderabad-born actor has come a long way. This is evident from the fact that both Reema Kagti, co-director and co-creator of Dahaad, and Jasmeet K Reen, director-writer of Darlings, had Varma in mind while building their characters.’
Talking about casting Varma as a sly serial killer in Dahaad, Kagti says, “Vijay was always our choice since he had worked with us in Gully Boy; we were aware of his acting chops. He is easy but he has gravitas. That’s exactly what the character Anand needed.” Varma breathes life into characters in the way writers and directors visualise them.
Watch Vijay Varma’s candid interview
Playing Hamza, says Reen, was not easy. “Vijay makes characters his own. However, it was hard for him initially. It made him uncomfortable since Hamza believes he is right, he is the best man for Badru (played by Alia Bhatt), that he has the right to control and punish her, as if she exists for him and him alone,” the writer-director says. So, Varma had to “get himself to believe in this kind of brazen entitlement”. Nandini Shrikent, the casting director of Gully Boy and Dahaad, too, vouches for his amazing ability to slip into a character. “For the role of Moeen in Gully Boy, Vijay auditioned and aced it. It’s only after I watched the film that I realised the impact he had.”
His toxic characters notwithstanding, Varma has found a growing fanbase. “Vijay is vulnerable on screen even while playing a dark character. I have seen how hard he works to bring in relatability or humour or some quirk,” says Reen. She recalls how they had several conversations about Hamza’s love for Badru, how he uses humour while patronising her and is so scared of losing her. Gurmeet Singh, director of Mirzapur Season 2 (2020), which features the actor in a double role, concurs: “He always manages to humanise his characters and that makes him endearing.”
Essaying complex characters can be trying. “Playing a double role too is taxing as you have to constantly switch between two characters. Vijay was brilliant in being able to keep his performance real and organic. The nuances that he brought between the two brothers were so effortless and all this while speaking in Bihari, a language not native to him,” says Singh.
The journey to being an actor wasn’t a cakewalk though. Having grown up in a conservative Marwari household, watching movies was not encouraged. “I was mostly into comic books. During my teens, some girls from my colony wrote me letters. That made me believe that there is something special about me. I was also impressed by celebrities on magazine covers. I then chanced upon some amateur modelling gigs in Hyderabad,” he says. Soon, he realised that modelling was not that exciting. He aspired to be an actor, inspired by Shah Rukh Khan and how his movies made people swoon.
While dabbling in theatre in Hyderabad, Varma learnt about the two-year acting course at Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. Aware that his father wanted him to take over their family handicrafts business, Varma had applied for it discreetly. “When I wasn’t selected, it broke my heart. I trained harder and got through the next year, in 2005.” That posed a fresh challenge. He didn’t know how to convince his family to let him join the course and manage the fees. “A friend lent me money and my then girlfriend took care of my monthly expenses. I assured my mother that I would return home in a year to act in Telugu films,” he recalls.
When Varma’s first feature as a lead in Amit Kumar’s Monsoon Shootout, premiered under Midnight Screenings at the Cannes Film Festival and he walked its coveted red carpet (he returned to the festival as part of the Indian delegation this year after a decade), he assumed that he had arrived. “The Cannes experience was surreal. I thought right after landing in Mumbai, I would be flooded with offers. None of that happened,” he says.
What sustained him during those three years was theatre. He did plays with Tom Alter and performed stories of Saadat Hasan Manto. “I used to do shows for whoever I could. I have done shows for my building watchman, too. If I found out that Naseer saab (Naseeruddin Shah) is doing a workshop, I would land up there. I was constantly doing something,” he says.
Even though his cameo as volatile Ankit in Pink (2016) made the audience take note of him, it is Gully Boy that became the proverbial turning point. “By then, I was broken and jaded. I didn’t expect much from playing Moeen’s character, but it made an impact. All the doors that were shut before were now ajar,” he says. The actor was in for a big surprise when he watched the film. Its opening sequence captures his swagger as he makes his way through Mumbai’s Fort area before stealing a car. “We shot that walk over three nights. But I didn’t expect the sequence to be this elaborate,” says Varma.
Another unexpected success came from She, a web-series by Imtiaz Ali. “During the pandemic, She became an after-dark watch for many. I had to shed my inhibitions to play this character,” he says. A year later, he was in the comedy series, OK Computer.
Playing a bad guy is tough. But every time, the actor always takes a step back. Quoting Spanish actor Javier Bardem, he says that the difference between an actor and a mad person is that the actor has a two-way ticket. “As an actor, you get to do your thing, experience a certain kind of truth in that moment. You refine your skills to such an extent that they become invisible, just like a magician. But you don’t have to carry the burden of the character.”
Varma is not all about grey or sinister. His next, Lust Stories 2 with Tamannaah Bhatia, is releasing on Netflix on June 29. He is also part of Sujoy Ghosh-directed adaptation of The Devotion of Suspect X and Kalkoot, a web-series. Currently, he is in Kyrgyzstan’s Balykchy on a long shooting schedule for an undisclosed project.
Basking in critical acclaim, he is however not eyeing stardom. “I am not a people’s person, I am a recluse,” he says. But, he has other ambitions. “I want to have work on my plate and an illustrious career. I want to grow old on screen. We saw Amitabh Bachchan in his 20s and now we watch him in his 70s. He has grown so beautifully in front of the camera. I want a career like that,” he says.
For those, who are taken in by his on-screen dark persona, here’s a revelation: Varma is a softie. He gets emotional while reading a book or watching a movie. “Recently, I was reading The Palace of Illusions (by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni). I cried while reading this story told from Draupadi’s perspective,” he says, adding that films such as Laal Singh Chaddha (2022) and The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) had a similar effect on him.
Meanwhile, Varma has also been grabbing headlines for his fashion choices. “I have always had a fascination for wearing good stuff — sunglasses, hats and accessories. Earlier, I never had enough money,” says the actor. Praising his fluid fashion sense, after the actor was seen wearing a black tuxedo and a metal sari while sporting brilliant blue hair, Delhi-based fashion designer Rimzim Dadu had said that he “can’t be confined to any definition”. The same can be said of his skills as an actor.
Dream Role: I would love to play a broken lover like Devdas, an army man, or a really stupid man as Brad Pitt does in Burn After Reading (2008).
Director: I’ve already worked with some of the directors who were on my wishlist. I would have loved to be in a Hrishikesh Mukherjee film. Among the contemporary directors, Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
Favourite genre: Not a sucker for candyfloss romantic stories, I love to watch Sci-fi, comedy, drama movies. But, of course, I am open to doing a great romantic movie if offered one. My favourite romantic movies are Bajirao Mastani (2015), Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), Piku (2015), Ijazat (1987) and Mughal-e-Azam (1960).
Favourite pastime: During the period between projects, I go to Hyderabad. Or, ask my mother and sister to visit me in Mumbai. I hang out with friends and play video games.
Other interests: I would love to be part of the writing process, In direction, I would like to do a comedy but not a feature but a skit. I like to hangout with comedians.
