Vijay Varma feels cancel culture and Boycott Bollywood have 'gone a bit overboard' | Exclusive

Vijay Varma has opened up about cancel culture. The Darlings actor feels it has gone a bit overboard now.

Vijay Varma has got rave reviews for his hard-hitting performance as the toxic-abusive husband to Alia Bhatt in Netflix’s Darlings. Vijay’s character Hamza, a role many actors rejected, has become popular not just with his fans but with anyone who watched the film. For someone who has managed to carve his own niche and path in the industry, Vijay is an actor who’s immensely passionate about his craft and not afraid of going to places others would hesitate.

In an exclusive conversation with IndiaToday.in, Vijay spoke about the current wave of toxic cancel culture and the unconditional love he receives on social media. When asked about his experience with trolls, Vijay said, “Somehow I have managed to accumulate thousands of people on social media, who just write great stuff to me. I am very surprised. In an age full of hate, I get a great deal of love. And you won't see people writing stuff to me that is offensive or demeaning either. Somehow, I have the best followers on social media. So, I have not managed to get that kind of attack online yet. And hopefully, it will continue to be like this.”

Responding to the current boycott and cancel wave in Bollywood, Vijay shared his thoughts and said, "It can scare you. It has just gone a bit overboard now. I feel something that you said 10 years ago could have been objectionable, and made a few people raise their eyebrows. It could be a prevalent exercise at that time, but in today’s times, it is no longer frowned upon. I feel you cannot be cancelled for something like that. For example, I go to a house in Rajasthan and there are leopard and tiger skins on display. When that house was probably built it was very normal to have dead animal skins on display. It was probably something that meant prestige. It was a common practice back in the day. But, things have changed. We have now understood how dangerous and cruel this is for the wildlife and animals. But people at that time, a family who has seen four generations of animal skins on their wall and have not educated themselves. Can we cancel them? If they have not educated themselves and are not in sync with the current times, do we become so bad to them that they get cancelled in a rude way? These are thoughts I keep thinking about. I don't really have an answer. I feel education and catching up on times is very important. But times and trends are changing so quickly. A comedian who must have said something 10 years ago, can have those lines come back to haunt him right now.”

Speaking that art is liberating and artists should be allowed to go to dangerous places, Vijay added, “It is a bit scary for artists. Artists should be allowed to go to dangerous places within the realm as much as the law allows you. But it has to travel. Only when an artist goes into the unknown, dangerous, chaotic space, can he bring something for you to watch or learn. Kon jayega nahi toh bahar? Kon jayega explore karne? Artist hi jaa raha hai na, pagal vohi hai. Vahi soch raha hai ki yaha jaunga toh kya hoga, pata nahi. Artists have to be allowed to explore the unknown into the realms. I have been doing it and, fortunately, have been receiving a good response. I want this response to continue because I want to explore. We will be constantly speaking about the times we are living in. It is important. We should be allowed to do that.”

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