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Meet actor who ran away from home, took up odd roles as he had just Rs 18 left and rose to massive fame after Mirzapur
This actor started his career playing character roles but soon emerged as a promising lead - credit OTT. From having a struggling financial foot initially to making it big, can you guess who he is?
Growing up in a family where there are always quarrels, it can be tough to find a voice for yourself. And that’s what made this actor leave his home. Known for being one of the finest character artists in Bollywood, this actor is now Bollywood’s heartthrob, and we aren’t even complaining. If you still cannot guess, this actor played a double role in Prime Video’s hit series Mirzapur.
We assume you guessed it right; today, we are talking about the rising star Vijay Varma. Seeing his breakthrough with 2016’s Pink, Vijay starred in several other successful titles, including Middle-Class Abbayi (2017), Gully Boy (2019), and Baaghi 3 (2020). What worked largely in his career’s favor was when the actor signed up to play the Tyagi brothers in the popular show Mirzapur (2020–present).
For those who don’t know, Vijay Varma started his acting career as a theatre artist in Hyderabad before moving to Pune for formal acting training in FTII. Soon after, the charmer moved to Mumbai and got a role in the acclaimed short film Shor, which even won the Best Short Film at New York’s MIAAC festival.
In an old interview with Film Companion, Vijay once revealed that he fled from home due to tensions with his father. The Rangrezz actor shared that he was the youngest in the family and hence ‘spoilt.’ After a certain age, Vijay started to have his own chain of thoughts that didn’t go down well with his father.
Varma added, “He wanted me to join the business, and I wanted to do anything but work with him. So, that’s where the conflict started, and he was also strong about his stand, and I was fighting for my stand. It went on for years until I decided 'I don’t think this man wants what is good for me', then I ran away from home.”
In another interview with Galatta Plus, Vijay once shared how his financial crunches made him take up a role even when he didn’t want to. “One time, when I was at my lowest low, I didn’t have any money. I had Rs 18 in my bank account, and there was a call that came,” Vijay shared, adding he was told to play a small reporter for one-day shoot and were paying him Rs 3000.
The Yaara actor accepted that he would have never done it had it not been for his financial difficulties. The actor revealed that even when he was shooting because his heart wasn’t there, he fumbled a lot, which led to him getting fired from the set immediately. “I had finished Monsoon Shootout by that time, so I had played a lead by then, but I went through that experience, and I was crying on my way back; I told myself that I would never take up anything for money,” Varma shared.
Over the last few years, Vijay has starred in some of his best career-defining projects, like Darlings, Lust Stories 2, Jaane Jaan, Murder Mubarak, Dahaad, Kaalkoot, and more. All these have given the actor a fresh and reliable foot in the industry, and it seems all his struggles have come to repay his dues.
The 38-year-old will be soon seen in Suriya43, Ul Jalool Ishq, and IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack. Do you also adore the work of Vijay? Tell us @pinkvilla
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