Vijay Varma, a talented actor, began his journey in the world of theatre, eventually transitioning to both Hindi and Telugu films. His exceptional performance in Gully Boy (2019),a coming-of-age story about an aspiring street rapper from the Dharavi slums of Mumbai, directed by Zoya Akhtar, earned him a nomination for a Filmfare award. This film was India's official entry at the Academy Awards, 2020.
Born in a Marwari family in Hyderabad, Vijay was the youngest of three siblings. Despite his family's wishes, he moved to Mumbai to pursue a career in acting, secretly doing theatre and securing a seat at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) with the help of his friend, who paid his fees and monthly allowance.
Vijay's first acting job was a short film titled 'Shor', which received critical acclaim and won the Best Short Film at the MIAAC festival in New York. He then played the role of a young revolutionary in the critically acclaimed period drama 'Chittagong' (2010-2012),which won two National awards. He went on to star in the leading role of Monsoon Shootout (2013),an official selection at the Cannes Film Festival 2013, although it was released theatrically in 2017.
Vijay's portrayal of a violent and abusive boy in the sleeper hit Pink (2016) captured the attention of critics and audiences alike. However, it was his breakout performance in Gully Boy (2019) that brought him into the limelight, earning him a place on the list of '100 best acting performances of the decade' by Film Companion. He soon appeared in Super 30 (2019) as a narrator.
In 2020, Vijay saw commercial success with Baaghi 3 (2020) and was part of the Hindi-language anthology horror film Ghost Stories (2020),directed by Zoya Akhtar and aired on Netflix. He also gave a tour de force performance as a psychopathic narcotics kingpin in the widely watched Netflix series She (2020). Vijay's portrayal of 'Sasya' impressed both the audience and critics.
Vijay's recent projects include Yaara (2020) and his upcoming projects include Mira Nair's A Suitable Boy (2020) for the BBC and Anand Gandhi's mini-series, a sci-fi mockumentary 'OK Computer'. In his free time, Vijay enjoys video gaming and lives by the mantra 'watch one film every day'.
