"I DO NOT WANT TO SHORT-SELL MYSELF AT THE PEAK OF MY CAREER." VIJAY VARMA ON DAHAAD & LAYERED ROLES

Vijay Varma has carved a niche for himself in the industry. Just when we were getting over his convincing portrayal in Darlings, he comes back with a role like Anand in Dahaad as a serial killer and leaves you stumped by his versatility

Having just returned from Cannes, his outlook toward various genres of films has only gotten more refined. In an exclusive chat with Filmfare, he reveals how loves to push the envelope, his newfound fondness for fashion and more. Excerpts...

You play a serial killer in Dahaad. For references, which other onscreen serial killers did you look at?

Reema shared a bunch of names for me to have a look at. I was completely caught off-guard. How do you play a role like this? She said she has been watching a bunch of documentaries and would send them across. So I started watching them, and after two days I gave up because it was too scary and disturbing to watch. I was like, “This is a fascinating world. I loved the story on paper. I didn’t understand the person I was going to play.” Then, when I tried to understand, I was like, “There’s no way you can because you are a sane person. There’s no way you will understand what happens inside a psychotic mind. So you should attempt to understand as much as you can.” I went to a psychologist to kind of get a breakdown of why people do what they do and what the chemical reactions involved are. I got all these technical details, and I understood how these people behave. But the script had all the answers because he is not somebody you can see and tell. He behaves and talks like an ordinary person. He doesn’t behave in any way that alarms you. It’s just what goes on in his mind and what he does in hiding, that’s all.

You’ve played a couple of negative characters, what is the key to relating to the character, like not having to justify but at the same time having a connection?