Vijay Varma opens up about casting couch experience in Hyderabad: ‘He started to misbehave with me…’ | Mint
Vijay Varma opens up about casting couch experience in Hyderabad: ‘He started to misbehave with me…’
Vijay Varma revealed that he tried modelling before foraying into the acting industry. However, it didn’t work out for him. Here’s what happened.
Claims of the casting couch have long remained a subject of debate in the entertainment industry, with several celebrities sharing their experiences. Actor Vijay Varma, who is best known for films like Gully Boy, Dahaad and Darlings, became the latest one to share his brief casting couch experience from the early days. He said that a model coordinator tried to get ‘touchy’ with him in Hyderabad.
Vijay Varma recalls casting couch experience as a model
Talking to Prakhar Gupta on YouTube, Vijay Varma shared how he stood for himself after the incident. He said, “I tried modelling 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. If acting is what I want to do, then I have to do it.”
Also Read|Prime Video renews Vijay Varma’s crime drama Matka King for second season
When Vijay Varma moved towards acting
Varma said that he was discouraged by the modelling industry, which later pushed him towards acting. However, it wasn’t a cakewalk either.
“So I went to a theatre school in Hyderabad called Sutradhar School of Acting. I told them, ‘I want to learn acting.’ But they turned me 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,” added Vijay Varma.
The 40-year-old actor went on to apply for the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), where he was rejected as well. However, he bagged admission at the institute during his second attempt. He attended the prestigious acting institute alongside actors like Rajkummar Rao and Jaideep Ahlawat.
On the work front, Vijay Varma’s last project was Vibhu Puri’s directorial Gustaakh Ishq. Naseeruddin Shah, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sharib Hashmi were also a part of the film. It marked costume designer Manish Malhotra’s directorial debut in films.
Also Read|Family Business first look: Anil Kapoor, Vijay Varma face off in Netflix drama
Films and shows of Vijay Varma
Varma was also recently seen in the OTT release, Matka King. “In 1960s Mumbai, an enterprising cotton trader who craves legitimacy and respect, starts a new gambling game dubbed ‘Matka’, that takes the city by storm and democratizes a terrain previously reserved for the rich and elite,” reads the official title card of the film.
Matka King also starred Kritika Kamra and Sai Tamhankar. It is now available on Amazon Prime Video.
After the success of Matka King, the show was officially revived for a second season.
Varma will be next seen in the upcoming high-stakes corporate drama Family Business. It is helmed by Netflix. The show also features Anil Kapoor. It is co-created by director Hansal Mehta and writer Niren Bhat.
About the Author
Sneha Biswas specialises in covering entertainment and pop culture, with a specialisation on Bollywood, Hollywood, OTT platforms, K-pop, K-dramas, and major developments in the US entertainment industry. She believes in telling stories that balance speed with substance, and in making entertainment journalism contextual, culturally aware, and reader-first rather than purely reactive.<br><br>
With over six years of experience in digital media, Sneha currently serves as a Deputy Chief Content Producer at Live Mint. She has spent more than three and a half years with the HT Group and returned to the organisation in February 2025, joining Live Mint to uplift the entertainment section. Over the past year, she has been closely involved in entertainment coverage including breaking news, explainers, trend reporting, box office reports and analysis for the audience.<br><br>
Sneha is Google News certified, having completed training focused on newsroom best practices, digital reporting, and SEO-driven content strategies. Her work reflects a strong understanding of audience behaviour, search trends, and the evolving consumption patterns of entertainment news across formats.<br><br>
Prior to her current role, Sneha has worked across multiple content and editorial functions within digital newsrooms, building expertise in content planning, editing, and real-time coverage. Her professional interests lie at the intersection of entertainment, internet culture, and global pop trends.<br><br>
Working for the National city team, Biswas closely follows global entertainment movements while maintaining a strong pulse on what is happening in India.
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