Vijay Varma, known today for his remarkable range across films and web series, revealed a deeply personal chapter from his early journey. The Gully Boy and Dahaad actor spoke about his struggle during his time at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).
Recently Vijay shared how he felt lost in the initial years of his training, leading to him being typecast into roles he never imagined he would play. He said, “When I was doing theatre and…in the film school at FTII somehow I don’t know why… I was a good student but I was a poor actor.. Because I had not done any acting work when I went there…So every other person in the classroom was far more educated than me and learned.”
He continued, “So usually when they would cast for plays we would sit and read. I didn’t know how to read for play…So every other student got all the leading parts and there would be no part (for me). So I would play minor parts in plays and then there was this one sequence where this mela is happening and one of my classmates was…a mela performer. And the play is set in the 1930s in Bengal. So there was a concept of men dressing up as women and performing women’s part. So the director was like a boy will perform in a girl’s clothes. So I said ‘I’ll do it’. I just jumped because I wanted to do something in the play.”
“First time I wore a draped sari, Bengali style, went and performed. And I didn’t feel shy because all of them were my classmates. I was very happy to have an opportunity to perform. In the middle of the play, I didn’t know the effect of it, eventually what will happen. But when the show actually happened…so many claps and whistles – I was like ‘this is about to work’. And I got typecast. In student projects I started getting roles of many girls. Either I used to play a grandfather type role or a girl’s role. I didn’t fit into anything. There was no box.”
From struggling to find a place in his class to today being celebrated for effortlessly slipping into layered, gritty and emotionally complex characters, Vijay Varma’s journey stands as proof that growth in art is not linear.
Vijay will next be seen in Gustakh Ishq releasing on 28th November, 2025. He also has a web series Matka King and apart from these, he has a lineup of multiple projects still waiting to be announced.