Actor Vijay Varma could also be identified for his darkish, advanced characters on display, however step inside his residence, and also you meet another person solely. “I’m a homebody,” he tells Architectural Digest in a house tour video. “I like being at residence once I’m not working. I don’t actually vacation a lot. So the house must really feel like a vacation residence.”
That concept, of constructing a sanctuary, not only a area, guides each nook of Vijay’s Mumbai residence. Designed to replicate his love for solitude, tales, sneakers, and cinema, the condo is heat and intimate, but unpredictable. “My temporary to [the designers] was I need to make this area somewhat extra intimate, extra cosy, extra me. A little bit eclectic, somewhat modern.”
From the outset, Vijay had a robust imaginative and prescient for the way his residence ought to really feel. “I stated I wished quite a lot of texture in the home. I wished lighter colors,” he explains. “The whole flooring is brown-heavy, and even that wall… there’s quite a lot of wooden and brown round. So I wished to herald some lighter tones.”
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To create that sense of belonging, life and artwork fill each area. “A number of vegetation, quite a lot of life, and quite a lot of artwork,” he provides. From curated bookshelves to handpicked corners, the home is segmented into intimate zones. “We’ve created a number of totally different corners—like that is the dwelling space, that’s my leisure unit, and that’s the place I maintain most of my books. These should not all—I’m nonetheless taking a look at extra books to maintain at totally different locations.”
Vijay’s books, comics, and childhood heroes
For somebody who as soon as tread the experimental theatre circuit, the books on his cabinets aren’t simply décor. “These are all my Hindi books. Books I picked up throughout my theatre days. Each time I am going to Prithvi Theatre, I choose up extra books.”
And in a transfer which may shock some, an entire part of his bookshelf is reserved for comics. “These are all Sandman collection—Neil Gaiman’s iconic work. And these—Tremendous Commando Dhruva, Nagaraj. These had been my heroes rising up. These are our homegrown DIY superheroes. I really like them.”
As you discover deeper, the house reveals itself like a dwelling autobiography. There’s a framed letter from Amitabh Bachchan that holds a particular place on the wall. “That is particular. This can be a letter despatched to me by Mr Bachchan on February 22, 2019. That is the rationale why I finished giving auditions.”Story continues under this advert
There’s a portrait that seems like a self-reflection. “This was gifted to me by my pal and designer Karan Torani after a marketing campaign we did collectively. He obtained some artists to color an image of me. This makes me really feel like there are lots of moods of me—and these are all me in varied instances of the day.”
Then there’s the tiny snake figurine, picked up from his very first movie set, Chittagong, in 2010. “I purchased this for like 20 rupees.”
Of sneakers and sentiment
If there’s one factor that rivals Vijay’s love for artwork and books, it’s sneakers. “Please come—the love of my life, my sneakers,” he says with a smile. His assortment started in 2018, sparked by a present. “The primary [pair] was gifted to me by director Anurag Kashyap. He gave me New Stability footwear and I wore them—and I fell in love with them.”
The remainder of the home continues like a reminiscence map. A Bruce Lee poster from the set of Janja, a nod to each his character and his real-life admiration for the martial arts icon, hangs between his self-importance and bed room. “Me and my father each are obsessive about Bruce Lee.”Story continues under this advert
Then there’s probably the most private room, the bed room. “That is the one room the place I’ve indulged in quite a lot of my very own pictures,” he confesses. The partitions are coated in posters of Wong Kar-wai’s movies, one other cinematic inspiration.
Vijay ends with a sentiment that really captures the spirit of the place. “A house is an extension of who you might be. If there is no such thing as a synergy between who you might be and the area you reside in, then there’s a sure type of imbalance.”
He constructed this residence, not for traits or aesthetics, however for fact—for who he actually is. “I wished to make the area as a lot me as I can. So it offers you an concept of who this individual could possibly be.”
And in that, he’s succeeded. His residence isn’t simply stunning—it’s alive with story, soul, and gorgeous contradictions. Similar to him.
