Metamorphosis is continuing as actor: Vijay Varma

MUMBAI:  Actor Vijay Varma, known for his stellar roles in films such "Gully Boy", "Darlings" as well as web series "Dahaad" and "IC: 814 - The Kandahar Hijack", says his metamorphosis as an artist is a continuous process.

Varma said he no longer connects to certain parts of his younger self.

"I think I have (come of age) and it is continuing to happen. I don't connect with my 15-year-old self or the 21-year-old me anymore. Certain parts of me I have completely forgotten. Things like that happen," the actor told PTI.

Varma likened this process of change to software updates.

"So I feel at different stages in your life, with different experiences behind you, you tend to grow and evolve into another kind of a version of you. So that metamorphosis is continuing to happen," the actor said at the Magnum lounge on the sidelines of the ongoing Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) X FDCI here.

As someone with an "androgynous body type", Varma is experimental with his style and is at ease with wearing flared pants as well as going shirtless in a suit.

"These are like trial and error experiments and I found it to be flattering for my body and then played along with it. I think it started with theatre when I was doing plays back in Hyderabad and Pune (at Film and Television Institute of India) where I was studying.

"There were few roles for a batch of 20 actors and I would often take opportunities to show up on the stage even if it is one entry of one song and I have to dress up like a street performer or as a women, come perform and leave. So, I have played different kinds of women on stage. In fact, it is very liberating once you go out and experiment with that," he added.

The actor is currently looking forward to the premiere of his Prime Video series "Matka King".

Directed by Nagraj Manjule, the series is a fictional tale set in 1960s Mumbai, where an enterprising cotton trader who craves legitimacy and respect, starts a new gambling game dubbed ‘Matka’. This game takes the city by storm, democratising a terrain previously reserved for the rich and elite, according to the official description.

The upcoming series is a story that hasn’t been told before, Varma said.

"It's about a man who is at a place in life where if he doesn't do anything, he will probably collapse. So he finds this loophole in his system and he makes sure that he makes the most of it. It's also about coming of age and maximising your potential."

LFW X FDCI will conclude on Sunday.