The Laid Back Hustler

Vijay Varma moves through Bollywood-and life—with a rare, effortless cool, balancing sharp instincts with disarming humility, quietly redefining what it means to be a leading man in the industry

-  Kanaad Chatterjee

I 've recently moved to Mumbai, and as much as I hate to admit it, all the clichés are true-people are always in a hurry, the roads are perpetually dug up, and every tree seems to exist in a sepia-toned haze. It's a city that demands street smarts as much as talent; a place where ambition alone won't cut it. Mumbai will test you, stretch you, and if you're not careful, it will drown out the one thing that can truly keep you afloat-passion. Especially if you're an outsider. Vijay Varma was no exception. He came with no connections, just a quiet certainty that he belonged. And he didn't just survive Mumbai-he bent it to his will.

Varma's presence is almost paradoxical-intensely laid-back, quietly magnetic. It's a reminder that passion, pursued with conviction, doesn't have to make a noise to leave a mark. Despite having no industry connections, he carved a path few outsiders manage to-without any entitlement. Walking into the studio for a shoot, he greets everyone unassumingly, shaking hands before slipping into a new outfit. In front of the camera, he's collaborative, offering suggestions, open to feedback, never once pulling rank and engaging without ego-an anomaly in an industry often fueled by posturing.

After a few shots, when we step out for a quick break Varma immediately validates my observations about the city. "There's no dust, no mosquitoes, and everything seems 4K," he says, reminiscing about Iceland, before sighing at the inescapable mess of Mumbai's infrastructure. Unlike many in his profession, he's firmly grounded in reality-whether it's the city's state or internet absurdities. "You know there's a girl selling farts online?" he asks, exhaling into Mumbai's deteriorating AQI.