Fafda, sweet chutney and fried chillies is a combination made in heaven: Vijay Varma

“Ahmedabad se toh mera purana rishta hai,” says actor Vijay Varma, who has been shooting in the city for over a week for his upcoming project. He goes on to add, “One of my close friends from FTII (Film and Television Institute of India, Pune) is from Ahmedabad. So, I have been to this city before (to attend her wedding).” And since then he has been fascinated with the city that “celebrates food and loves living life to the fullest.”
Vijay, who caught the audience’s attention in a small yet powerful role in Pink, followed it up with yet another fabulous performance in

Gully Boy

. And since then, life has changed for the actor. “I have been getting a lot of offers since Gully Boy,” he says reminiscing of his days post Pink when he only got offers he didn't like. While now there is more variety in the offers he gets, he is still being selective with what he accepts. On a wintry afternoon, which also happened to be a day off from a hectic shooting schedule, Vijay Varma took a ride with Ahmedabad Times to try some local delicacies and visit the Sabarmati Riverfront. Excerpts from a chat:
You have been in the city for over a week now shooting at different locations. How has the experience been?
Ahmedabad se toh mera purana rishta hai. I have been here two times earlier as well. One of my very close friends from FTII (Film and Television Institute of India, Pune) is from Ahmedabad. So, I came here to attend her wedding. I have been to Adalaj Ni Vav, Amdavad Ni Gufa and Drive-In Cinema. The city gives a very positive vibe. It always feels nice to be in this city. The fact that it has so many open spaces is such a relief, especially after living in Mumbai which is all about tall buildings. You can’t even see the sky there.
Have you tried any local food in all these days?
A lot of it. I tried undhiyu-puri, fafdajalebi, bhel, dabeli and vada-pav. I know that

fafda-jalebi

is what people prefer here, but I like fafda with that sweet chutney they give with it along with fried chillies. That’s the combination that I prefer. I even tried khaman, and I loved the one which is sweet and spicy. When you are in Ahmedabad, you tend to overeat almost every day. The way people enjoy food here is so amazing, it’s like a celebration. But the most fun I had here was on Uttarayan when I ended up flying kites for hours in between shots. Kite flying is big in Hyderabad as well (Vijay’s hometown) and I used to be on the terrace all day long only to come back home in the evening four shades darker and bruised fingers from the manjha. Uttarayan took me back to those days.
You have been selective with your roles right from the start of your career. Post Gully Boy , you’ve said that offers have been pouring in. Is it difficult to resist the temptation of taking up what comes your way and make the most of the situation?
I have had the fortune of spending time and working with some great actors like Naseer sahab (Naseeruddin Shah), Irrfan, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. I have learnt to balance things out for myself through the wisdom they imparted to me. And Vishal Bhardwaj once told me that one should never work for money. Your ultimate aim should be doing good work. If you do the right thing, money, fame and success will follow. You need to know who you want to be. Do you want to be the guy who goes out every day, socialise with people, markets himself and gets work through connections or do you want to be the person who lets his work do the talking and push people to come to him for work? I choose to be the second guy.
Many actors say that acting is a very internal process. So how do you make things real when everything around on a set is make believe?

True, set pe har cheez nakli hoti hai, aur uss sab ke beech tum ek asli cheez dhund rahe ho. It’s like chasing something really mysterious. As an actor, you have to make yourself believe that everything is real and then wait for that moment to happen. And it sure does. It might come by practice or by sheer coincidence, but it does. In Gully Boy, I really felt that I was in jail and that my friend Murad had come to meet me. And I broke down. It’s these moments that make acting worth it.