Amitabh Bachchan told Vijay Varma he’s afraid of retakes

Actor Vijay Varma’s (right) portrayal of one of the antagonists, Ankit Malhotra, in Shoojit Sircar’s Pink (2016), got him instant fame. Vijay is happy that people still recognise him as the Pink actor.

“Pink achieved a certain level of popularity that a lot of other films couldn’t,” says the actor, who was recently seen in Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Raag Desh. “My role in the film connected with the people. I was told by the makers [of Pink] that my character was supposed to instigate terror into the audiences’ mind and I tried my best to do that,” he says.

According to the actor, the film is special, not just because it was successful, but also because he got to work with Sircar and Amitabh Bachchan (left). “Working with Shoojit sir was always on my check list. So when the offer came my way, there was no reason to decline it,” says Vijay.

The actor is full of praise for Bachchan, and says that he was particularly fascinated by his dialogue delivery. “He was constantly rehearsing to get things perfect. I couldn’t understand why an actor of his stature spent so much time rehearsing. So when I got the chance to speak to him, I asked him about this and he said, ‘I am afraid of retakes.’ He told me that if he makes a mistake, everybody will have to do it over again. And this made me realise why he is one of the greatest actors we have,” says Ankit.