Vijay Varma has earned acclaim for complex grey roles in projects like ‘Darlings’, ‘Dahaad’, and ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’. Varma has now opened up about the early struggles in his acting career. The versatile actor revealed how Bollywood typecast him in small supporting roles despite a prestigious Cannes premiere.In a recent interview, he spoke about sitting idle for years and his determination to break free from limited brackets.
Early Cannes experience
Vijay Varma recalled in a talk with PTI on his first major international moment with the film Monsoon Shootout. He said, “The first festival that I went to was Cannes with my film Monsoon Shootout, before anything had been released. I could not have done a bigger dhamaka (blast) than this, but after this, I was sitting idle for many years.”The FTII graduate expected the Cannes exposure to open doors, but work remained scarce.
Vijay Varma’s fight against typecasting
Even after small roles in films like ‘Pink’, ‘Raag Desh’, and others, Vijay found himself restricted. He shared, “From not having any work to doing smaller roles and then being restricted to them, it was hard to break out and do anything that is not a small part or not a friend who is giving a high five to the hero.” He added that after being offered a big villain role, the industry quickly put him in that bracket, which he resisted strongly.
Breakthrough with ‘Gully Boy ‘
Vijay’s career turned with Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy. The small but impactful role brought him wider recognition and all thanks to the Ranveer Singh starrer. He described his constant urge to break moulds, saying, “Every time somebody tries to put me in any kind of a cage or a mould, my tendency is to just break it open.”Vijay is now awaiting the release of his series ‘Matka King’. His last theatrical release was the romantic drama Gustaakh Ishq in November 2025.
