EXCLUSIVE: Gully Boy's Vijay Varma on Ranveer Singh, his character Moeen and film's success

Zoya Akhtar's film Gully Boy released on Valentine's Day last week. The film stars Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh in the lead roles. The film received a lot of positive reviews from the audiences and the critics. People are impressed with the performances, the music and the way Zoya used rap to express the social issues in her film. Along with the lead actors, audiences also appreciated the supporting actors and their characters as well. One such character is Moeen which was portrayed by the very talented actor, Vijay Varma.

Pinkvilla got a chance to have a small chat with Vijay Varma and we asked him about what was the thought process behind his character Moeen and his experience of working with Ranveer Singh and Zoya Akhtar. When asked how did he end up getting the part in Gully Boy, Vijay revealed, "The role came to me via an audition. They called me for a test; I went for it, and a few days later, they told me that Zoya wants to meet me. I went to the Excel office and I met her where she made me read the scenes a few times. Then later, I got a call that I have been locked for the part. After a few days, the script was sent to me and I was blown away by the script. It was a dream to work with Zoya as she has always been one of my favourites."

Varma's character has different shades. As an audience, you might not like the way he works, but you do understand where he is coming from. So, how did Vijay judge the character he was playing? He mentioned, "I saw that character as absolutely real in the kind of world that he belongs to. In the world that he belongs to, there are no demarcations that this is morally correct or not. That's the world of survival where you are making sure that you have food to eat. So, when you are in that kind of situation, the right and wrong are merged. But having said that, I also knew that on the front, he is working in a garage and on the back of that, he is also stealing cars and peddling drugs. So, there are multiple layers to the character. So it is very difficult to figure out this guy in one scene. Basically, he is just a guy who is trying to survive. When he needs more money, he will go for it."

"I kind of became a lawyer for this character when I was shooting it. In no way, I can propagate any kind of child labour. When I was doing the part, I was being loyal to the part. I just wanted to be true to the character," the actor added.

Vijay Varma's Moeen and Ranveer Singh's Murad played best of friends in the film who also had their own share of differences. So, how was the experience of working with Singh? "It was probably one of the most enriching experiences of my life. Ranveer was very generous and committed to the story and to the part. I felt honoured to be in a frame with such a prolific actor. A lot of my scenes worked because he was cooperating well as all my scenes were with Ranveer Singh."

The Monsoon Shootout actor was all praises for director Zoya Akhtar and said, "Zoya is the most sensitive and most supportive director. She is very democratic in her working style. She makes sure that there is a voice that everybody can have and they can voice it. So, she is very open to opinions and feedback. There were times when I improvised my character in the film. Sometimes, Ranveer and I used to change something and she would give a thought to it. The script is so solid and foolproof, we would go all prepared; so, she just allowed everything we wanted, especially improvisations when I wanted to do in my character."

Gully Boy is already a hit. So, what does he have to say about the film's success? Vijay Varma shared his happiness stating, "I am very grateful and I feel so humbled and loved. I never had that kind of feeling throughout my career. I am grateful and at the same time, I just hope this love and success keeps coming. I want to thank people who reached out to me."

Did you like Vijay Varma's performance as Moeen in the film? Let us know in the comments below