Sep 17, 2026 8:00pm IST
Vijay Varma on 10 Years of ‘Pink’: ‘The Biggest Moment For Me Was to Share Space With Mr. Amitabh Bachchan’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Produced on a reported budget of around ₹30 crore in 2016, “Pink” went on to earn critical acclaim and strong box office returns. More significantly, the film sparked conversations around moral policing of women and the shortcomings of the legal system. A decade later, Shoojit Sircar’s courtroom drama continues to resonate.
Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari, Andrea Tariang, Angad Bedi, Tushar Pandey, Piyush Mishra, Vijay Varma and Dhritiman Chatterjee, the film featured Varma as one of its antagonists. Looking back, Varma says, “The film is one of the most significant projects to me because it was back in 2016. I came to Mumbai in 2008 after eight years of doing work and not being recognized or finding success. Then “Pink” happened, and it was the only film that I did at the time.”
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Varma, who will next be seen in Netflix’s “Lust Stories 3” anthology, says it was “nice” to be part of a successful film. He adds, “We released it within six months of the first day of shooting. It was a sleeper hit as it was made on a tight budget. Shoojit told all the actors and the crew not to discuss any box office numbers. I think it comes from some kind of disdain for movies being discussed just for their numbers.”
Varma played Ankit, who helps perpetrators amplify the vilification of the women at the center of the film. About the role, the “Gully Boy” actor says, “It was the first time I played a grey character; he was a terrible human being. It was difficult, but I had to let go of my inhibitions and surrender myself to the director’s vision. Shoojit knew exactly what to do to help me get there.”
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Speaking about his experience of working with Amitabh Bachchan, Varma recalls, “The biggest moment for me in that film was to share space with Mr. Amitabh Bachchan and to watch him so closely on set. He rehearsed every morning for as long as he could. He comes from a school of thought where if an actor does a retake, everybody has to work a lot more and the film stock is wasted. He likes to get it right in the first take and that’s something that he sticks to even today, I’ve heard.”
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