Vijay Varma has revealed that an uncomfortable encounter with a model coordinator during his early days in Hyderabad became the turning point that led him to pursue acting full-time. Speaking to Prakhar Gupta on his YouTube channel, the actor said, “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.” He added, “I said, ‘Bro, what is this? What are you doing?’ So, I got discouraged immediately.”
Varma said the episode pushed him to stop exploring other options and focus on acting instead. His first attempt to formalise that path was rejected. He recalled applying to Hyderabad’s Sutradhar School of Acting, where he said the school turned him away, telling him, “It requires commitment, it requires dedication. This isn’t something you’ll do for two days and then leave.” A subsequent application to the Film and Television Institute of India also failed at the final round, an experience Varma said taught him that “your dreams aren’t entirely in your hands.”
He was accepted into FTII’s acting programme on a second attempt, studying alongside Rajkummar Rao and Jaideep Ahlawat before building a career spanning films and web series including Darlings, Jaane Jaan and Gully Boy.
Varma’s most recent release was Vibhu Puri’s Gustaakh Ishq, which also marked costume designer Manish Malhotra’s directorial debut. He will next appear in Netflix’s corporate drama Family Business, created by Hansal Mehta and Niren Bhat, alongside Anil Kapoor.
