Actor Vijay Varma said that he has been quietly “waiting in the wings” for his big moment in the spotlight, which has finally arrived with Zoya Akhtar’s “Gully Boy”.
Though Vijay, 34, has appeared in films like ”Chittagong”, ”Pink” and ”Monsoon Shootout”, his acting in the Zoya Akhtar-directed film is winning has brought him a lot critical acclaim.
In the film, Vijay plays Moeen, a brother-figure to Ranveer Singh’s Murad, a mechanic who moonlights as a carjacker by the night.
”When you are doing theatre and a play is happening, you are waiting in the wings for your entry. You enter and do your bit. I was in the wings, ready, with my costume on, knowing that now I will enter (the play). But sometimes I didn’t get that entry. With ‘Gully Boy’, it feels like this is the time I am entering the stage and doing my bit,” Vijay told agencies an interview.
Written by Zoya and Reema Kagti, with dialogues by Vijay Maurya, the film traces the journey of a Mumbai rapper’s rise against all odds.
For Vijay, playing Moeen meant looking for references from his life experiences and borrowing certain character traits from the actors he looks up to — Jackie Shroff and Amitabh Bachchan.
To prepare for his role, Vijay met the rappers as it was important to understand the lingo.
One of the most poignant sequences of ”Gully Boy” involves Moeen and Murad having a conversation while the former is behind bars. Vijay says the scene has resonated with people across.
“Gully Boy” has given Vijay a wider recognition and he hopes to continue doing good work even in his next projects, a web series written and produced by Imtiaz Ali and a film ”Bamfaad”, which is presented by Anurag Kashyap.
Asked about the future of Moeen, Vijay has an interesting take.
“He will do the running around while he is young. But with age he might become someone like Murad’s father (played by Vijay Raaz).
