Actor Varun Sood, who is currently the talk of the town for his much-deserved OTT debut with Karmma Calling, gets candid with The Pioneer, sharing his feelings on his journey being a slow process, his fanboy moment, staying away from social media, and more.
Tejal Sinha
Undeniably, Varun Sood is the heartthrob of the industry, and one cannot stop adoring him. Lately, the actor has been the talk of town with his performance in the Raveena Tandon-starrer Karmma Calling, unleashing his charm as Ahaan Kothari.
From initially playing a cameo in Jug Jugg Jeeyo to a remarkable main cast in Karmma Calling, he enthuses, “I’m just extremely grateful for every opportunity I have got. I’m glad that it’s been a slow process because it gave me time to learn and also be humble about every step that I climbed.”
Basically, for the series, it was the opportunity that drew him to the project. For an outsider, he says, “We need people to believe in us, and I knew this was a really big show, and the audience will also be massive. The audience is what makes an artist, and I took this as an opportunity for the audience to accept me as an actor.”
The biggest star of the show is Raveena Tandon. As one of her co-stars, his biggest fanboy moment was when he saw her picture with the rest of the cast during the look test. And then, “When I stepped outside the room, there she was. I was in awe. Someone who I have admired all my life is now standing in front of me, and I will be sharing screen space with her. It still gives me jitters! Her aura is magical and powerful.”
All the characters in this show are so layered and complex. But talking of his character, Ahaan, he says, he had individual readings with everyone to develop characters. So what was the brief for Ahaan Kothari? It was the poor billionaire boy who wanted to make something special of his own. She is a pretty humble and loving person, but she has grown up among the Kotharis. The MTV Roadies fame had to find a right balance that didn’t take away Ahaan from the fact that he also belongs to that world.
Apart from the intensive workshops, Varun had his own method of getting into the skin of a character. “I try to look different physically for every character I get. For Ahaan, I hired a trainer for the first time ever. I was on this crazy fancy diet.” All this was not to feel like Varun but to build on Ahaan.
What you put out will come back to you in the most unexpected ways, they say about karma. In fact, the makers too have rightfully personified karma and made it appear believable. But does Varun personally believe in it? “Oh yes, I do believe in the concept of karma,” shares the handsome hunk, adding, “I have always wished well for others. No matter what has happened to me in my life, I don’t wish bad things on others at all. Maybe unknowingly, I have hurt some people, but I also believe karma has done it’s job for that. I believe I’m a good human being, and I’m honestly grateful that karma works both ways, good and bad. Basically, it’s all the good karma I’ve done, which gave me a beautiful family and such amazing friends. All in all, a beautiful life, indeed!”
Well, guess what? Every day was so special for the rising star that he had his amazing moments on the sets, just by loving to spend time on the set. So much that he kept looking forward to being back on the sets and now misses it much.
With much discussion happening around the challenges for young actors to maintain the balance between their work and social media personalities, the MTV Splitsvilla fame gleefully shares, “I think it’s a choice we have to make. Social media is in our control, and we get to choose what to make of it. For the last 2 years, I have been away from social media because I only want people to see my work and very less of me on my social media. I’m intentionally keeping my private life, my travels, and my family time to myself. Being yourself on social media is very important, and it’s important to be honest, but everyone should find that healthy balance between what to post and what not to.”
Not to forget, though Varun has made sure to keep his private life private, the ‘thirst trap’ has been incessant. And he couldn’t agree much, as he asserts with a laugh, “The thirst traps will be a constant, and so will be my private life. I was in the public eye ever since I was 19, and because of the things happening around me, it was hard to keep things private. And it was probably affecting me in some way. So in the last 2 years, I thought of working on myself, travelled, and had a lot of fun without letting the world know about it. But only for myself.”
From being that outsider making a mark in this industry to headlining a big-scale show, he feels it’s all just getting started, and further comes a revelation: “I have two more releases in 2024.” An ecstatic Varun further shares, “I’m just happy that I have people around me who believe in me and trust me with their vision. And I’m just hoping that in the future, as my work comes out, more and more people will start looking at me as a bankable actor. So yes, every moment is fireworks in my body. But I just have to keep my head down and do good work. For me, what matters is the depth of the role, what that character is bringing to the table, and how he affects the story.”
So is it that he is more focused on becoming a full-time actor or completely removing himself from the reality TV pool? Well yes! “I’m completely out of it. I don’t mind hosting or judging a reality show. But that is the only association I would like to have with reality TV now.” The promising actor, who also loves comedy, hopes something around the genre happens soon, as well as a superhero film, having been a fan since his childhood!
Undeniably, Varun Sood is the heartthrob of the industry, and one cannot stop adoring him. Lately, the actor has been the talk of town with his performance in the Raveena Tandon-starrer Karmma Calling, unleashing his charm as Ahaan Kothari.
From initially playing a cameo in Jug Jugg Jeeyo to a remarkable main cast in Karmma Calling, he enthuses, “I’m just extremely grateful for every opportunity I have got. I’m glad that it’s been a slow process because it gave me time to learn and also be humble about every step that I climbed.”
Basically, for the series, it was the opportunity that drew him to the project. For an outsider, he says, “We need people to believe in us, and I knew this was a really big show, and the audience will also be massive. The audience is what makes an artist, and I took this as an opportunity for the audience to accept me as an actor.”
The biggest star of the show is Raveena Tandon. As one of her co-stars, his biggest fanboy moment was when he saw her picture with the rest of the cast during the look test. And then, “When I stepped outside the room, there she was. I was in awe. Someone who I have admired all my life is now standing in front of me, and I will be sharing screen space with her. It still gives me jitters! Her aura is magical and powerful.”
All the characters in this show are so layered and complex. But talking of his character, Ahaan, he says, he had individual readings with everyone to develop characters. So what was the brief for Ahaan Kothari? It was the poor billionaire boy who wanted to make something special of his own. She is a pretty humble and loving person, but she has grown up among the Kotharis. The MTV Roadies fame had to find a right balance that didn’t take away Ahaan from the fact that he also belongs to that world.
Apart from the intensive workshops, Varun had his own method of getting into the skin of a character. “I try to look different physically for every character I get. For Ahaan, I hired a trainer for the first time ever. I was on this crazy fancy diet.” All this was not to feel like Varun but to build on Ahaan.
What you put out will come back to you in the most unexpected ways, they say about karma. In fact, the makers too have rightfully personified karma and made it appear believable. But does Varun personally believe in it? “Oh yes, I do believe in the concept of karma,” shares the handsome hunk, adding, “I have always wished well for others. No matter what has happened to me in my life, I don’t wish bad things on others at all. Maybe unknowingly, I have hurt some people, but I also believe karma has done it’s job for that. I believe I’m a good human being, and I’m honestly grateful that karma works both ways, good and bad. Basically, it’s all the good karma I’ve done, which gave me a beautiful family and such amazing friends. All in all, a beautiful life, indeed!”
Well, guess what? Every day was so special for the rising star that he had his amazing moments on the sets, just by loving to spend time on the set. So much that he kept looking forward to being back on the sets and now misses it much.
With much discussion happening around the challenges for young actors to maintain the balance between their work and social media personalities, the MTV Splitsvilla fame gleefully shares, “I think it’s a choice we have to make. Social media is in our control, and we get to choose what to make of it. For the last 2 years, I have been away from social media because I only want people to see my work and very less of me on my social media. I’m intentionally keeping my private life, my travels, and my family time to myself. Being yourself on social media is very important, and it’s important to be honest, but everyone should find that healthy balance between what to post and what not to.”
Not to forget, though Varun has made sure to keep his private life private, the ‘thirst trap’ has been incessant. And he couldn’t agree much, as he asserts with a laugh, “The thirst traps will be a constant, and so will be my private life. I was in the public eye ever since I was 19, and because of the things happening around me, it was hard to keep things private. And it was probably affecting me in some way. So in the last 2 years, I thought of working on myself, travelled, and had a lot of fun without letting the world know about it. But only for myself.”
From being that outsider making a mark in this industry to headlining a big-scale show, he feels it’s all just getting started, and further comes a revelation: “I have two more releases in 2024.” An ecstatic Varun further shares, “I’m just happy that I have people around me who believe in me and trust me with their vision. And I’m just hoping that in the future, as my work comes out, more and more people will start looking at me as a bankable actor. So yes, every moment is fireworks in my body. But I just have to keep my head down and do good work. For me, what matters is the depth of the role, what that character is bringing to the table, and how he affects the story.”
So is it that he is more focused on becoming a full-time actor or completely removing himself from the reality TV pool? Well yes! “I’m completely out of it. I don’t mind hosting or judging a reality show. But that is the only association I would like to have with reality TV now.” The promising actor, who also loves comedy, hopes something around the genre happens soon, as well as a superhero film, having been a fan since his childhood!
