Before Gully Boy fame, Vijay Varma faced an inappropriate incident that affected him mentally. 'He started to misbehave...'

Actor Vijay Varma has spoken about the difficult phase he went through before making a name for himself in films. Known today for performances in projects such as Gully Boy, Darlings, Dahaad and IC 814, Vijay revealed that one of his early experiences in the modelling industry left him shaken. Speaking on Prakhar Gupta's YouTube channel, the actor also looked back at the rejections he faced before finally getting into the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).

Vijay Varma recalls uncomfortable modelling experience

Sharing his early struggles, Vijay said he had briefly tried modelling in Hyderabad before deciding to become an actor. During that period, he said he had an unpleasant encounter with a model coordinator.

"I tried modelling in Hyderabad, just small-time, amateur-level work. But I came across this weird model coordinator. He started to misbehave with me a little bit, like just trying to get a little touchy-feely. I said, 'Bro, what is this? What are you doing?' So I got discouraged immediately. You get discouraged very quickly when you're still inexperienced. Then I thought, I think I should address it head-on. If acting is what I want to do, then I have to do it."

The actor said the incident discouraged him at the time, but it also made him realise that he wanted to seriously pursue acting instead of continuing with modelling.

Rejected by theatre school and FTII

After deciding to become an actor, Vijay approached Hyderabad's Sutradhar School of Acting. However, he said he was not given admission.

"So I went to a theatre school in Hyderabad called Sutradhar School of Acting. I told them, 'I want to learn acting.' But they turned me away. They said, 'It requires commitment, it requires dedication. This isn't something you'll do for two days and then leave.' I thought, they're not even giving me a chance."

The setbacks did not end there. Vijay later applied to FTII's acting programme and reached the final round but failed to secure admission.

"Then I applied to FTII. I found out they had a two-year acting course. I applied, made it to the final round, and got rejected. And for the first time, I realised that your dreams aren't entirely in your hands. It's not like you want something and you automatically get it. You don't."

The lesson that stayed with him

Looking back at those years, Vijay said the failures changed the way he looked at life and success.

"When you're growing up, you're entitled in a way. Your parents are there, your family is there, everything is taken care of. You get what you want. Eventually, you get what you want. But then you realize that in the outside world, it's not easy to get what you want, whether it's getting a seat in a college or getting to do what you feel like doing."

Vijay later returned to FTII and was accepted into its acting programme. At the institute, he studied alongside Rajkummar Rao and Jaideep Ahlawat, before going on to establish himself as one of Hindi cinema's most dependable performers.

On the work front, Vijay Varma was most recently seen in the web series Matka King. His comments were made during an interview with Prakhar Gupta on his YouTube channel.