Why SRK wasn’t Hamza in Darlings, Vijay Varma explains

Actor Vijay Varma, whose performance as Hamza Shaikh in the just-released ‘Darlings‘ has earned rave reviews, recently revealed that Shah Rukh Khan had expressed his interest in playing his role in the movie.

“I remember somebody had told me that when Shah Rukh read the script, he said, ‘Agar main young hota toh main hi karta (If I was younger, I would’ve done this role)’, which was interesting for me to hear,” he revealed in an interview with Film Companion. 

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The ‘Gully Boy’ actor further revealed that SRK’s interest in playing Hamza’s role made him feel more confident.

“That was also one of the reasons I felt that I could do this role, if Shah Rukh Khan thinks that he can do this role, being an absolute lover-boy and a sweetheart. Of course, I was scared to take up a role like this, but I’m very glad that it hit the nail on the head,” he said. 

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Vijay Varma plays Alia Bhatt’s abusive husband in the movie. He is also an alcoholic. Actor Shefali Shah plays Bhatt’s mother Shamshunissa ‘Shamshu’ Ansari inn the movie. 

Speaking about the concerns he had about how a role like Hamza’s would impact his career, Vijay Varma said, “When I walked out of the screening, I remember Alia was like ‘are you okay’ and I was really like ‘I think mera career khatam ho jaayega iske baad (I think my career will end after this).’ Because a performance that creates that kind of hate and dread is scary for an actor.”

‘Darlings’ marks the directorial debut of Jasmeet K. Reen and also Alia Bhatt’s debut as a producer. She has produced the the film under her company Eternal Sunshine Productions along with SRK and Gauri Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment. The movie, which released on August 5, also stars Roshan Mathew, Vijay Maurya, and Rajesh Sharma in pivotal roles.