A look at Vijay Varma's 10 most compelling performances, ranked from good to great, showcasing the remarkable range of one of Hindi cinema's most exciting actors.
IMAGE: Vijay Varma in Matka King.
Key Points
- Can you even recall a bad Vijay Varma performance?
- If the role is grey-shaded, all the better, but Varma has also proved that he can shine in softer, even romantic parts.
- Despite limited screen time in Gully Boy, he makes every moment count, delivering a performance that is both commanding, layered and even heartwarming near the end.
The supremely talented Vijay Varma is once again making critics and fans sit up and take notice with his performance in Matka King, streaming now on Prime Video. Created by Nagraj Manjule, best known for Sairat and Jhund, the show is inspired by the life and rise of real-life 'matka king' Ratan Khatri, who built one of the country's most infamous betting networks out of Mumbai, then Bombay.
While the series has received mixed reviews, there is unanimous praise for its leading man.
And that hardly comes as a surprise.
Can you even recall a bad Vijay Varma performance? If the role is grey-shaded, all the better, but Varma has also proved that he can shine in softer, even romantic parts.
As the actor garners well-deserved appreciation for his latest outing, Sreeju Sudhakaran looks back at his defining performances and ranks them from good to great.
10. Aditya in Monsoon Shootout
IMAGE: Vijay Varma in Monsoon Shootout.
If you have not seen Amit Kumar's neo-noir crime thriller, do check it out for two reasons. One, it arrived at a time when both Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Vijay Varma were eager to prove themselves. Two, it experiments with an intriguing narrative device, splitting into alternate timelines based on a single, crucial decision.
Varma plays a principled rookie cop whose split-second moral dilemma, whether to shoot a suspect or not, shapes the film's structure.
While Nawazuddin gets the flashier role of the dangerous criminal, Varma's sincerity as the conflicted officer is equally compelling making him an actor to watch out for then, even if wider recognition came a few years later.
9. Ankit Malhotra in Pink
IMAGE: Vijay Varma and Angad Bedi in Pink.
Vijay Varma's role may be that of one of the secondary antagonists, but screen time and capacity hardly matters here. Every moment he appears on screen, you are bound to loathe the character.
In a film led by stalwarts like Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu and Kirti Kulhari, a then-rising Varma still manages to stand out as the deeply reprehensible friend of the main antagonist, embodying the worst misogynistic traits of a privileged Delhi brat.
The sequence where he and his friends abduct Taapsee's character and assault her inside a moving vehicle, with him coldly instructing what follows, is easily the film's most disturbing moment.
If you find yourself wanting to keep a distance from Varma after watching it, that only underlines how effectively he gets under your skin.
8. Moeen Arif in Gully Boy
IMAGE: Ranveer Singh and Vijay Varma in Gully Boy.
Every talented outsider needs that one mainstream breakthrough to make the industry sit up and take notice. Zoya Akhtar's Gully Boy did exactly that for both Siddhant Chaturvedi and Vijay Varma.
While the latter had already earned praise for Pink, it is as Moeen, the street-smart mentor and criminal friend of Murad (Ranveer Singh), that Varma truly connected with a wider audience.
Despite limited screen time, he makes every moment count, delivering a performance that is both commanding, layered and even heartwarming near the end.
His confrontational scenes with Ranveer Singh are particularly compelling. From here on, we begin to see the rise of Vijay Varma the star, something the actor himself has acknowledged in several interviews.
7. Jigar Fareedi in Bamfaad
IMAGE: Vijay Varma and Shalini Pandey in Bamfaad.
Another under-rated entry in the actor's filmography, largely overlooked due to its quiet direct-to-OTT release on Z5, Ranjan Chandel's Bamfaad is a dark and intense romantic drama starring Aditya Rawal (in his debut) and Shalini Pandey.
Vijay Varma plays the antagonist, a political heavyweight who is anything but conventional. He is not merely driven by ego; his decisions are calculated, based on whether his opponent is worth his attention or whether survival demands restraint.
Varma delivers a magnetic and composed performance, fully commanding the screen, and turning Jigar into an intriguing and under-rated villain to grace the screen in the last few years.
6. Bharat Tyagi and Shatrughan Tyagi in Mirzapur
IMAGE: Vijay Varma in Mirzapur.
The Prime Video series Mirzapur thrives on flamboyant characters and high-voltage performances, yet Vijay Varma's double act stands out precisely because of its restraint.
Playing twin brothers Bharat and Shatrughan Tyagi, Varma enters in the second season and makes an immediate impression, aided by his distinctive combed-back, ponytailed look. More importantly, he carefully differentiates the two: Bharat is stoic and obedient, while Shatrughan is more relaxed, romantic, and impulsive.
The performance grows even more layered in season 3, when one brother is forced to impersonate the other, while adding shades of menace and emotional conflict. Varma handles these shifts with remarkable control, making himself one of the biggest positives of the show's weaker seasons.
5. Captain Sharan in IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack
IMAGE: Vijay Varma in IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack.
Sometimes, being a hero does not require grand speeches or physical confrontation. It lies in staying composed under pressure and making measured decisions in the face of crisis.
Vijay Varma's Captain Sharan Dev embodies precisely that. Based on the real-life Kandahar hijacking of 1999, this Anubhav Sinha-created series offers a detailed and balanced retelling of the incident, supported by a formidable ensemble including Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Arvind Swamy, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra and Dia Mirza.
Amidst such strong performers, Varma stands out with remarkable restraint as the calm-headed pilot of the ill-fated aircraft.
His portrayal feels grounded and authentic, allowing you to fully register the emotional and psychological strain of a man responsible not just for navigating a hijacked plane on gunpoint, but also for safeguarding the lives entrusted to him.
4. Brij Bhatti in Matka King
IMAGE: Vijay Varma in Matka King.
Nagraj Manjule's Matka King centres on Vijay Varma's gambling king, and when you place an actor of his calibre at the heart of a story, you expect nothing short of fireworks. The show may not rank among Manjule's finest works, but Varma elevates the material with a performance that is both magnetic and intense.
It is a role that charts his journey from an underdog during the volatile, metropolitan rise of Bombay to the undisputed king of his network. The charismatic ease with which Varma navigates this arc makes you root for him almost against your will.
Even when the show struggles to mask its shortcomings, Varma ensures you remain invested, holding your attention firmly with his command over every scene.
3. Pappan in Gustaakh Ishq
IMAGE: Vijay Varma in Gustaakh Ishq.
We have seen Vijay Varma excel in tough, rough-edged roles, but in Vibhu Puri's Gustaakh Ishq, he takes a softer turn and delivers one of his finest performances to date, making you wonder why he isn't offered more such sensitive roles.
Playing an Urdu publisher who finds himself in a forbidden relationship while trying to salvage his livelihood, Varma is splendid. His command over the Urdu diction is impressive, but what truly elevates the performance is the subtlety in his body language and emotional expressions, which makes the character deeply endearing.
Unfortunately, Gustaakh Ishq did not perform well in theatres despite favourable reviews, making the future unsure of when we might next see Varma headline a romantic role in Hindi cinema.
2. Anand Swarnakar in Dahaad
IMAGE: Vijay Varma in Dahaad.
Created by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti, the Prime Video series Dahaad is inspired by the real-life capture of serial killer Cyanide Mohan, albeit fictionalised with changes in characters and setting.
Vijay Varma plays the serial killer, a creepy charmer who preys on naïve and vulnerable women before murdering them using cyanide.
What makes the performance so unsettling is the duality Varma brings to the role. He appears meek as the school teacher, almost absurdly cheesy while luring his victims, only to turn chillingly methodical in dispatching them. These variations add a layered nuance to his portrayal, making it easily the standout performance in the series.
Interestingly, the Cyanide Mohan-inspired figure has also led to compelling performances elsewhere, notably by Jitendra Kumar in Bhagwat: Chapter One -- Raakshas and Mammootty in Kalam Kaval.
1. Hamza Shaikh in Darlings
IMAGE: Vijay Varma and Alia Bhatt in Darlings.
If Pink and Dahaad made you detest Varma, then in Darlings, he will leave you deeply unsettled. Playing the abusive and controlling husband to Alia Bhatt's character, he evokes a visceral reaction with his portrayal.
What makes the performance stand out is his control over the characterisation. Varma never turns Hamza into a caricature despite the role's potential to veer in that direction.
The menace feels real. In one moment, he is cheesy romantic, showering love on his wife; in the next, he turns disturbingly cruel when his ego is bruised. This duality makes Varma's performance terrifying.
Watch the scene where he discovers that Badru has filed a police complaint against him. It captures the volatility of the character perfectly. It is this balance that makes Hamza one of the most chilling antagonists in recent Hindi cinema, and Varma's best performance to date.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff