'Got touchy-feely': Vijay Varma recalls disturbing experience with model coordinator
What's the story
Vijay Varma, who has delivered memorable performances in projects like Gully Boy, Darlings, and IC 814, recently opened up about his struggles before finding success. The actor revealed that he was deeply discouraged after a bad experience with a model coordinator during his early modeling attempts. Speaking to Prakhar Gupta on his YouTube channel, Varma said the encounter made him rethink his career choice.
Discouragement
'Weird model coordinator misbehaved with me'
Varma said, "I tried modeling in Hyderabad, just small-time, amateur-level work. But I came across this weird model coordinator. He started to misbehave with me a little bit, like just trying to get a little touchy-feely."
"I said, 'Bro, what is this? What are you doing?' So I got discouraged immediately. You get discouraged very quickly when you're still inexperienced."
"Then I thought, I think I should address it head-on."
Acting aspirations
Varma was turned away from theater school
Despite the discouragement, Varma decided to pursue acting.
He went to a theater school in Hyderabad called Sutradhar School of Acting but was turned away.
"They said, 'It requires commitment, it requires dedication. This isn't something you'll do for two days and then leave.' I thought, they're not even giving me a chance."
Later, he applied to the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) but faced rejection again.
Persistence pays off
He eventually got into FTII
Varma eventually returned to FTII, where he was accepted into its acting program. He studied there with Rajkummar Rao and Jaideep Ahlawat.
Reflecting on his journey, Varma said, "When you're growing up...you're entitled in a way... But then you realize that in the outside world, it's not easy to get what you want, whether it's getting a seat in a college or getting to do what you feel like doing."
Varma was last seen in the web series Matka King.