Filmfare – July 15, 2019

T

hough he’s
not the
lead, Zoya
Akhtar’s rap
saga, Gully
Boy, opens with him
sauntering in a dark and
deserted street. That
establishes the bearing of
Vijay Varma’s character,
Moeen, at the onset in a
film that had dynamic
characters played by
Ranveer Singh, Alia
Bhatt and debutant
Siddhant Chaturvedi.
Morally fractured as he
is, Moeen, is a mechanic,
carjacker and drug dealer,
with unexpressed anger.
Survival is his only
agenda. His is a journey
of crime and punishment,
sin and salvation. There’s
a phrase that echoes
through Gully Boy - Bohot
hard! It’s not only the
jargon of the boys in the
backstreet but also sums
up the chasm between

fine

in

for m

dreams and achievement

that every character senses

in the film. It applies to

Moeen as well.

Vijay had no qualms

playing this grey character

in a film set in Mumbai’s

underbelly. “People make

choices depending on

their circumstances,"

he says explaining his

character. "Moeen ends

behind bars because he

deserves to be there. But

in that he arrives at a

profound understanding

of life.” He adds, “He has

a sense of humour too.

He’s simply human.”

Vijay gives credit to the

screenplay written by

Zoya Akhtar and Reema

Kagti, which helped

him get into the skin of

the complex character.

“This guy is a garage

mechanic yet there are

things he does discreetly.

On one hand, he displays

showmanship and on

the other he downplays

so many noble things. It

was tricky bringing out

this contradiction,” he

narrates.

He plays a ‘brother

figure’ to Ranveer’s Murad

in the film but their

relationship is a complex

one. “Ranveer and my

character share a beautiful

bond. I remember seeing

something like this in

Christian Bale’s The

Fighter (2010). There’s a

Ram-Lakhan vibe too,”

HIS JOURNEY MAY HAVE BEEN ‘BOHOT HARD’ BUT NOW’S

THE TIME TO BE ‘BOHOT’ HAPPY FOR GULLY BOY ACTOR,

VIJAY VARMA, WRITES KAJOL MATHUR

With Ranveer Singh in Gully Boy

RANVEER (SINGH)

AND MY CHARACTER

SHARE A BEAUTIFUL

BOND...THEY’RE

CONSTANTLY

FIGHTING, JUDGING

EACH OTHER AND

ALSO SUPPORTING

EACH OTHER.

THERE’S AN UNSAID

BROTHERHOOD

BETWEEN THE TWO