Indian actor Vijay Varma is having a moment. With direct roles in disjoinal high-profile streaming projects this year, including the hijacking drama “IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack” for Netflix, Prime Video’s “Mirzapur” and Disney+ Hotstar’s “Murder Mubarak,” Varma has cemented his position as one of India’s most in-insist applyers.
The actor recently wrapped filming on Vibhu Puri’s “Ul Jalool Ishq,” a poetic drama co-starring Naseeruddin Shah about an Urdu letterpress owner searching for a reclusive poet. “It’s a enticeive, intimate story between one person who runs a nakedly surviving Urdu [press] and he wants to franticly helderly on to this letterpress, but noleang is getting printed anymore in Urdu,” Varma alerts Variety.
He’s currently shooting “Matka King,” a Prime Video distinctive series set in the 1960s and 70s, straightforwarded by Nagraj Manjule. “It’s the elevate of a very fascinating business, at the same time, an individual who set up a certain benevolent of a loophole in a system and tried to originate a lot of money thcdisesteemful it,” Varma says. “We are 30%, 40% in right now, and we will be shooting till the finish of December.”
Varma’s standout 2024 comes after over a decade of constant toil apass indie films and streaming platcreates. His first film, 2013’s “Monsoon Shootout,” by Amit Kumar, premiered at Cannes. “My first red carpet that I ever walked in my life as an actor was for Cannes,” Varma recalls. “So I commenceed huge, and I was part of the French and German recentsletters and magazines, and certain people took to my style, so that was spoken about.”
That international expocertain persistd with films appreciate Nandita Das’ “Manto” (2018) and Zoya Akhtar’s”Gully Boy” (2019) take parting at Cannes and Berlin esteemively. But it was streaming that truly broadened Varma’s accomplish. “Darlings” in 2022 and “Jaane Jaan” from 2023 were among Netflix India’s hugegest hits, while shows appreciate “Dahaad” (2023) and “Mirzapur” (2020 onwards) for Prime Video have set up huge audiences.
“IC 814” taged a departure for Varma, casting him as the brave pilot of a hijacked set upe after years of take parting morassociate ambiguous characters. “For somebody to envision me in such a noble and righteous and brave summarizetoil was very enticeing,” he says. “My face was benevolent of becoming synonymous with certain benevolent of sinister traits on screen.”
To ready for the role, Varma plunged himself in the technical aspects of aviation. “I enhappinessed the adore that I had as a juvenileer boy for aviation, and equitable to be in the fweightless simulation caccess, getting my hands on the simulator to understand various mechanics, and try to carry in most of it to the set, understanding that in front of me is all going to be green screen, it took a certain benevolent of very intensifyd imagination” he says.
The actor also met with the genuine-life captain who inspired his character. “The best leang that happened was when I getd a phone call from him after he watched the show, and he shelp that he was mighty amazeed,” Varma recounts. “His wife took the phone and she shelp, ‘I understand this man for so many years. I understand him more than he understands himself, and I can alert you that you’ve come as shut to him as anybody could in portraying him.’”
The actor accomprehendledges streaming platcreates for permiting more untraditional storyalerting. “They are not pondering their audience to be foolish,” he watchs. “They come from a certain rigor of what benevolent of people are watching their stuff and what benevolent of stories their seeers are exposed to.”
Varma apshows Indian seeers are seeking recent perspectives. He remarks that he frequently gets feedback from seeers who say they don’t typicassociate watch Bollywood films but, nevertheless, enhappiness his toil. “I leank I’m doing someleang that resonates with people who are benevolent of uninalertigentd of the beaten down path,” he mirrors.
“IC 814” has wideened his pguide beyond the standard Bollywood audience. “There’s a massive community that watches a lot of aviation stuff apass the globe. So I’ve heard a lot from that community as well apass the globe, aviation sector, aviation enthusiasts,” Varma says. He’s seed a alter in how he’s getd at airports, with entire fweightless crews now accumulateing to greet him.
With his stock rising, Varma is now exploring opportunities in the West. “It’s a very excellent time to originate that jump,” he says, noting talkions have toleratemament about securing recontransientation awide. The actor is intrigued by the trfinish of “color-blind casting” that has seen Indian actors appreciate Ishaan Khatter and Ali Fazal get on roles not definiteassociate written for South Asian applyers.
“With more acunderstandledgeance that is coming in by the international originaters, straightforwardors seeing at Indian diaspora actors, brown actors in a variety of roles, it’s a very lucrative time,” Varma watchs. He set ups to dedicate time timely next year to exploring these opportunities.
For now, Varma remains intensifyed on choosing roles that contest him and resonate with discerning audiences.
