Vijay Verma: Styling had to reflect power

Gully Boy breakout star Vijay Verma shares his first look from Hurdang, a social drama set in '90s

A month into the shoot of Hurdang, actor Vijay Varma says he has eased into his character of Loha Singh. The college love story, which also features Nushrat Bharucha and Sunny Kaushal, plays out against the backdrop of the Mandal Commission in the '90s. To stay true to the milieu of the Nikhil Nagesh Bhatt-directed venture, Varma and designer Sheetal Sharma spent weeks zeroing in on his look.

"We arrived at the final look after many trials. We took references from many pictures from the late '80s and early '90s, which the team had gathered for mood boards," says Varma, who will be seen wearing his hair long — as was the style in the '90s — and sporting tinted sunglasses, another rage in the decade. "Sheetal and I worked closely to get the vibe of Loha Singh right. Power and leadership are his main traits, and we made sure they reflected in the styling."

While Varma flaunted a barely-there moustache in his breakout film Gully Boy, he decided to grow it out to lend "gravitas" to his character in the social drama. "The moustache was an idea that I had to try, to make my character look intimidating."

Also read: Sunny Kaushal, Nushrat Bharucha and Vijay Varma in Shaailesh R Singh's Hurdang

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