Vijay Varma Reveals How Pankaj Tripathi's Praise Became His Best Compliment

Despite having never been to Bihar or knowing anyone from the state personally, Varma had spent months studying Tripathi’s interviews to understand his journey. Speaking on the sidelines of the Jagran Film Festival, Vijay revealed that the praise from the acclaimed actor became the most meaningful compliment of his career.

Speaking about his remarkable command over dialects in projects like Gully Boy, Mirzapur, and Dahaad, he said, “I'm not that kind of actor who can change his body a lot for every film. I can't eat a lot. So, I try to make a difference with my voice and style. My personal interest is that the region from which a character belongs, should sound like that he’s from that region.”

“My best compliment was given by Pankaj Tripathi. He's from Siwan. I've never been to Bihar in my life. And I don't have any close friend or acquaintance from Bihar. So, I used to sit and listen to Ravish Kumar's interviews, Kanhaiya Kumar's interviews, Pankaj Tripathi's interviews, I used to listen to them every day for three months.”

When asked why audiences connect so deeply with his characters, Vijay explained, “Some part of my brain switches off to what people think of me,” he says. “At the time of a release, I get an idea whether they liked it or not. Then I get lost in my work for a couple of months. I have nothing to do with myself. And this is how I get lost in my work.”

“So, when I come back, I realise that my work has reached people. I have some personality or people understand me or believe in me. So, I feel like there is some part of my brain which is so twisted that I don't have much touch with reality all the time.”

The ‘Murder Mubarak’ actor also shared that his interest in such characters traces back to the films that first inspired him.

“I think I grew up idolizing Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Naseer Sir, Brando, Dilip Kumar. These were the actors that spoke to me and none of their roles were straight up boring men. They were all doing something that is questionable.”

“I feel that the character whose part is broken or some part of it is dark, the audience connects a lot with that. I mean, I connect as an audience. I feel that vulnerability is the biggest connection. They say, right? The light travels through the crack. So, if you see something broken in somebody, that is where the audience has a chance to be interested in, go inside, look at what it is. Ever since my comic books days and video games and everything, I'd look for a certain kind of grey in people, in personalities, in characters. So, I think I enjoy it a lot, when there are such challenges.”

Vijay Varma is gearing up for the release of his upcoming film “Gustaakh Ishq” which also stars Naseeruddin Shah and Fatima Sana Shaikh. The movie is slated to hit the theatres on 28th November.

- IANS