VIJAY VARMA MAN OF THE MOMENT

Amidst the barrage of releases, Vijay Varma's dignified reticence is enveloped in thoughtful consideration, reports Ipsita Kaul

- Ipsita Kaul

An on-duty cop armed with an airtight vision that was my introduction to Vijay Varma when I pressed play on Netflix's in-house production Jaane Jaan' almost a year ago. And smitten | was. So much so that I missed my train station while watching the movie on my way to work. I was required to ingloriously make a detour by adding almost fifteen odd minutes to a route already tainted with a three-digit minute mark. Such is the allure of a man who's self-made in this industry, defined by the "less talk, more show" ordinance.

Lately, theatres and OTT platforms have been abuzz with Varma's name, and hence, the relatively newfound stardom birthed a question about his relationship with fame and quietude. When I quizzed Varma about it, he called it a conscious choice. "I don't want to bore the people with anything further than what they already have. I've also played a considerable number of negative characters and if there's any sort of hate I might encounter regarding my characters, I don't want it to trickle down onto my family."