Filmfare – July 15, 2019

(Barré) #1

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
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