Polite and soft-spoken, Vijay Varma is instantly likeable. So unlike his recent screen outing as Hamza Shaikh in Darlings, co-starring Alia Bhatt, which has got him rave reviews for his chilling portayal of a violent and abusive husband with a drinking problem, who doesn’t think twice before pushing his pregnant wife down the stairs. Darlings has also given Vijay a career high. In a chat with The Telegraph post walking at Rimzim Dadu’s show that celebrates 15 years of her brand with an ‘art x fashion runway showcase’ at Kiran Nadar Museum of Art in Delhi, recently, Vijay tells us about his fashion loves and favourites.
How did your ramp walk go? Were you nervous or confident as ever?
I wasn’t really nervous, although it wasn’t a regular ramp walk. I was walking in a museum... in several rooms, so it was a maze kind of a situation. So, I had to remember how to enter each room. I had to make sure I entered the rooms correctly and left them and entered the next correct room, instead of losing my way or getting lost. So, it was walking in a space rather than a ramp. That was a bit of brain work, but otherwise, it was smooth. This wasn’t the first time I was walking the ramp, but it was the first time in a museum for Rimzim, which was absolutely delightful.
What you wore was new-age...
I think she innovates and she has built it (her label) that way; she has her own aesthetics. She has been doing it for 15 years now. I was very happy to celebrate the 15 years of her debut and having a new voice. From what I was wearing, I felt it was a sleek warrior look, understated yet effective... very comfortable to wear. It had that polish which I really liked.
What did you think of the concept of holding a fashion show in an art gallery?
In my head, any art form has a certain design to it. People expressing themselves through art is also a way of expressing their fashion. It’s like different kinds of sectors coming together. The audience probably had a better experience. They were sitting surrounded by art and we happened to go past them. That’s the kind of experience I really liked.
Are you comfortable with fashion?
I have been a bit of a fashionista ever since I was a little boy. I enjoy putting things together. I was that boy who if he liked one sweater, would wear it in summer also, just because the colour looked really good. I enjoy my stint with fashion. Even when I was not having any money, I would still wear what I could afford. Because I follow a lot of artists, and when you follow artists and their art, you end up looking at their fashion. There’ve been people who have individual styles. And, of course we’ve all grown up watching Bollywood films and been fascinated by how amazing these people look on screen. It’s good to be in a place where I am right now where I am able to kind of do the work I want and also wear fancy clothes.
What can you literally live in?
I feel streetwear is my style. It’s come to the forefront right now internationally and is on a boom and big brands and designers are contributing to streetwear now. This was something I was doing while I was in college in my own way. It’s about expressing yourself and a little casual... not too much effort. Also, it gives you the chance to put things together and wear the same garment again and again differently.... That kind of DIY stuff is also pretty exciting.
Is there a city that you keep going back to for its shopping experience?
Not for shopping, but when I went to Shillong, I found people to be so well-dressed. If you go to Manipur, they wear these beautiful home-grown designs and merge it with Western designs. Particularly, if you go to Shillong on a Sunday, you will see probably the best fashion parade in India.
Has any artist left an impact on you particularly?
I was obsessed with Eminem in 1999-2000 and I freaked out on how amazing he was and how angry he was at the world and how unapologetically he was saying what he had to say. He was banned from several countries but his angst spoke to me. I was also a rebel teenager. Somehow I related to his style as well. Never thought I could pull off something like that, but I always admired his style and music.
I think I was always fascinated by how well put-together Shah Rukh Khan is. He is always on point and wears some of the coolest stuff. So effortless, graceful and charming.
You mentioned you like effortless ease in dressing. There is an effortless ease in your acting too. You are almost like a chameleon, slipping into different roles with so much ease. What’s the secret?
(Laughs) I don’t know if I have chameleon genes in me but it doesn’t come naturally. I have to choose characters which are challenging and different and scary sometimes. When you play a devious person authentically on screen, you call them out.