<p>Since the release of Zoya Akhtar’s ‘Gully Boy’ last week, Vijay Varma, who plays the brother-figure to Ranveer Singh, is overwhelmed by the positive response for his performance. Playing the character of Moeen, a mechanic and a thief, Vijay’s role was one that was well-received by the audience.</p>.<p>Amidst his busy schedule filled with press meets in Mumbai, Vijay had a candid chat with <span class="italic"><em>Metrolife</em>’s</span> <span class="bold">Anila Kurian</span> to talk about the preparation for his role. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>Zoya’s film generally involves an ensemble cast. Did you feel like your character was overshadowed? </strong></p>.<p>Moeen had a definite track. He starts the film, and we see why he does. I didn’t feel like I will be overshadowed because I trust Zoya as a filmmaker. She always has a huge ensemble, but every character is given their due credit, love and care.</p>.<p>To my surprise, Ranveer was the most generous and giving actor. The script demanded my character to shine in certain places and he did. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>What was the brief given to you by Zoya?</strong></p>.<p>She told me that Moeen is a survivor. He’s had the toughest life of them all, and he is the toughest among them too. He has a sense of bravado about his survival. Moeen thinks that he’s the king of his own land. During the process, I started to see why she wanted the character to be the way he is. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>Your character was portrayed as a bad guy, but he’s also quite caring and supportive to his friends and orphans. Was it hard for you to understand the complexity of the character?</strong></p>.<p>It definitely was. The whole business of understanding that took the longest time; execution was very smooth as we prepped before we went on the floor. Then again, even just to fathom what this beast of a character is, took me a little while. He has so many enterprises and each of them has a body language to it. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>We hear that you had to learn to drive for the film. Is that true? </strong></p>.<p>(<span class="italic">Laughs</span>) Yes. I have never owned a car, and I didn’t spend too much time driving. The last time I drove was for a scene in ‘Monsoon Shootout’, and I had to brush up my skills. After all, I am driving around a superstar and his safety was my responsibility (<span class="italic">laughs</span>). I didn’t want a situation where he doesn’t know how to drive and crash with the nation’s heartthrob!</p>.<p class="Question"><strong>When your initial movies took a while to release, did you feel like it was not worth it to stick on? </strong></p>.<p>Honestly, I believed in ‘apna time aayega’. I was mentally prepared to get a role that I will be appreciated even if it was at the age of 50. There wasn’t anything else that I could do. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>What’s next for you, Vijay?</strong></p>.<p>I finished shooting for a project with Anurag Kashyap. I’m also working on a crime drama web series written and produced by Imtiaz Ali. Let’s see what else opens up next. </p>
<p>Since the release of Zoya Akhtar’s ‘Gully Boy’ last week, Vijay Varma, who plays the brother-figure to Ranveer Singh, is overwhelmed by the positive response for his performance. Playing the character of Moeen, a mechanic and a thief, Vijay’s role was one that was well-received by the audience.</p>.<p>Amidst his busy schedule filled with press meets in Mumbai, Vijay had a candid chat with <span class="italic"><em>Metrolife</em>’s</span> <span class="bold">Anila Kurian</span> to talk about the preparation for his role. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>Zoya’s film generally involves an ensemble cast. Did you feel like your character was overshadowed? </strong></p>.<p>Moeen had a definite track. He starts the film, and we see why he does. I didn’t feel like I will be overshadowed because I trust Zoya as a filmmaker. She always has a huge ensemble, but every character is given their due credit, love and care.</p>.<p>To my surprise, Ranveer was the most generous and giving actor. The script demanded my character to shine in certain places and he did. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>What was the brief given to you by Zoya?</strong></p>.<p>She told me that Moeen is a survivor. He’s had the toughest life of them all, and he is the toughest among them too. He has a sense of bravado about his survival. Moeen thinks that he’s the king of his own land. During the process, I started to see why she wanted the character to be the way he is. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>Your character was portrayed as a bad guy, but he’s also quite caring and supportive to his friends and orphans. Was it hard for you to understand the complexity of the character?</strong></p>.<p>It definitely was. The whole business of understanding that took the longest time; execution was very smooth as we prepped before we went on the floor. Then again, even just to fathom what this beast of a character is, took me a little while. He has so many enterprises and each of them has a body language to it. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>We hear that you had to learn to drive for the film. Is that true? </strong></p>.<p>(<span class="italic">Laughs</span>) Yes. I have never owned a car, and I didn’t spend too much time driving. The last time I drove was for a scene in ‘Monsoon Shootout’, and I had to brush up my skills. After all, I am driving around a superstar and his safety was my responsibility (<span class="italic">laughs</span>). I didn’t want a situation where he doesn’t know how to drive and crash with the nation’s heartthrob!</p>.<p class="Question"><strong>When your initial movies took a while to release, did you feel like it was not worth it to stick on? </strong></p>.<p>Honestly, I believed in ‘apna time aayega’. I was mentally prepared to get a role that I will be appreciated even if it was at the age of 50. There wasn’t anything else that I could do. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>What’s next for you, Vijay?</strong></p>.<p>I finished shooting for a project with Anurag Kashyap. I’m also working on a crime drama web series written and produced by Imtiaz Ali. Let’s see what else opens up next. </p>