Vijay Varma says he was scared of hurting Alia Bhatt during physical abuse scenes in 'Darlings'

Alia Bhatt's maiden production, Darlings, has managed to stay on the most-watched list on Netflix in Pakistan over the weekend. The film revolves around domestic violence, abusive marriage and its consequences. The film, which should carry a trigger warning but doesn't, has received varied reviews from the viewers. 

While some have lauded Bhatt for her bravery to essay a character as complex as Badru, others have slammed the makers over 'glorifying domestic abuse.' However, there are some scenes in the film which are too graphic. The main characters of the film Vijay Varma and Alia recently sat down to discuss how they filmed the said violent scenes for Darlings. 

In an interview with Hindustan Times, Vijay said he was worried about not unintentionally hurting Alia in the scenes where his character Hamza had to hit Badru. 

He recalled, “I remember because it was a physically powerful exchange, I wanted to make sure the other actor is not hurt or even felt wrong. I was very clear that I will come and grab your shoulder so be ready for this. That kind of thing was happening. Between the husband and wife, there aren’t many funny moments but the drama beats are great and we were feeding off each other incredibly. But yes, we discussed the choreography of the scenes so that our moves and moods reflect in the work that we were doing.”

Vijay and Alia also shared how their characters in the film weren't black and white but gray. Speaking about the same, the SHE star commented, “It’s a reflection of life. It’s something that we have seen, heard and discussed and therefore it becomes very human. And human beings are anything but black and white. We figured out what is the shade of the character."

He added, "It’s slightly on the darker side. Not just in the equation with his wife, he is personally not at a good place in his life. He is insecure; he has an inferiority complex with him. But he overcompensates for that as a defence mechanism. There is one thing that he feels is working in his life and he wants to hold on to that with all his might is the wife.”

Similarly, Alia’s Badru also has shades of grey as she decided to extract revenge and kill her abuser. Talking about the depiction of domestic violence in the film, the Gangubai Kathiawadi star remarked, “It’s not the quintessential villain and someone is right and other is wrong. It’s just the choices you make in life. Maybe had he changed, they could have had a happily ever after. But there was a point at which he chose to push and this venomous side of his was overbearing the side of him that she loves.”

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