Darlings: Vijay Varma opens up on comparisons between his character Hamza and Kabir Singh, says 'magic lies in...'

Vijay Varma is on cloud nine these days as his performance in Darlings is being applauded by the critics and the audience. Vijay plays Alia Bhatt's abusive husband Hamza Shaikh while his Gully Boy co-star Bhatt plays Badrunissa 'Badru' Ansari Shaikh and Shefali Shah plays Bhatt's mother Shamshunissa 'Shamshu' Ansari.

Vijay's character has been compared with Shahid Kapoor's character in Kabir Singh where Kapoor's titular character was heavily criticised for toxic masculinity while the Hindi remake of the Telugu film Arjun Reddy, both directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, went on to become a blockbuster earning more than Rs 300 crore at the box office in 2019. 

In a recent interview with Film Companion Local, Vijay called Darlings as 'anti-thesis of Kabir Singh' as he said, "It was a different point of view. And the magic lies in the gaze, it’s told by a woman. I feel Jasmeet’s perspective was the correct one and the important one. And that perspective allowed the character to be humanised, but didn’t sugarcoat his monstrosity. We cannot celebrate this behaviour. And also, this is a cause-and-effect world. Therefore, the end of the character."

READ | Kiara Advani says her slap scene in Shahid Kapoor starrer Kabir Singh was 'blown out of proportion'

Darlings marks Jasmeet K. Reen's directorial debut and also Alia Bhatt's debut as a producer as she has bankrolled the film under her company Eternal Sunshine Productions along with Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment. Apart from the brilliant performances of the three main leads, the film also features Roshan Mathew, Vijay Maurya, and Rajesh Sharma in pivotal roles.

After Darlings, Vijay will be sharing screen space with Kareena Kapoor Khan in Sujoy Ghosh's film adaptation of The Devotion of Suspect X. The film marks Kareena's digital debut and will also be streamed on Netflix.