Vijay Varma, who rose to fame as Moeen in Gully Boy, has spoken about why it took him so long to find success in Bollywood, though he has been a part of the Hindi film industry since 2012.

Vijay made his acting debut in 2012 with Chittagong. He was then seen in films like Rangrezz, Monsoon Shootout, Raag Desh and Manto. It was only in 2019 that recognition came his way, after he featured in the Ranveer Singh-starrer Gully Boy.

He describes the success of Gully Boy as an overall triumph of the venture. “I just feel it’s the success of a venture. ‘Gully Boy’ became a splendid success and also became a part of pop culture, and it spoke to the audience very loud. So, I think that was the turning point,” Vijay told IANS. The actor says he still doesn’t know what was lacking in him all these years.

“Basically I was part of projects that didn’t meet the thunderous success of ‘Gully Boy’, so that was the only difference. Also, I was evolving as an actor constantly. I was ageing in life and at the same time evolving artistically,” he said.

Vijay currently has the web series Mirzapur season two coming up. Talking about being a part of the popular show, he said: “It feels amazing, absolutely smashing. I cannot express how fascinated and euphoric I am right now, knowing that the fandom of the show is of another level and that expectation is high. The trailer was well received.”