The rookie cop’s dilemma

He ambled on the path to success with his negative role in Pink. Now, Vijay Varma will be seen in the role of an honest rookie cop in Monsoon Shootout that is set to release on December 15. The film was critically acclaimed at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013.

More than the films, it is the experience of sharing screen space with Amitabh Bachchan, Neeraj Kabi and Nawazuddin Siddiqui that Varma is proud of. He says that working with such profound actors was not a pressure at all. “But you have to make sure that you don’t overdo or underplay,” says Varma, who considers himself a huge fan of Bachchan. “Watching him perform is a pleasure in itself and you get to learn so much.”

About his role in Monsoon Shootout, he says, “I am playing a very serious character in the upcoming thriller. The guy is a topper at the police academy and a man of principles. On his first day at the police station, he understands the functioning of the crime branch. But that very day, he finds himself in a tricky situation when he is face-to-face with a criminal,” says Varma.

Walking the red carpet is what every actor dreams of. “It was my very first experience of being in a foreign country and walking the red carpet at Cannes. My first release Chittagong had won the National Award. I was so worried about what I will wear that I went to Nawazuddin and asked him if I could borrow a suit from someone. He laughed and said ‘no one would lend me one’. But he introduced me to a tailor, who made one for me. I was even featured in some fashion magazines,” says the actor, who was born and brought up in a Marwari family of Hyderabad.

His family was never into films. “I started modelling in Hyderabad, but it was a bad experience. One day, I came across an advertisement for the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, but didn’t get through. I stayed back, did some courses, and tried again after a year,” he says, adding that he borrowed money from friends for the course because his father was not very happy with the decision. About his future projects, he says, “I have a cameo appearance in Manto, once again with Nawazuddin. Besides, there’s a Telugu film coming up.”