Vinay Varma Explained

Vinay Varma is an Indian actor, script writer, and casting director who primarily works in Telugu and Hindi-language films.

Career

Vinay Varma, founder of Sutradhar, started out as an amateur theatre practitioner. He has been involved with theatre for more than 40 years. He has also been a part of more than 40 feature films in Telugu and Hindi, in addition to one Hollywood film.^[1]

He started his theater career with the play Coffee House Mein Intezar written by Dr. Laxminarayan Lal. Varma left his banking job to pursue acting.^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6]}

He has directed over 45 plays and has acted in more than 50 with over 200 shows across India and abroad. Some of his performances include Natasamrat, Raktbeej,^[7] Main Rahi Masoom,^[8] Siyaah Haashiye, Stronger Than Superman, Main Nathuram Godse, Death Watch, Kanjoos Makkhi Choose,^[9] David Mamet's Oleanna.^{[10] [11]} His play Main Rahi Masoom is based on the life of writer Dr Rahi Masoom Raza. Besides Hyderabad, Main Rahi Masoom has been performed in Kala Ghoda Arts Festival – Mumbai, 3rd Minerva National Theatre Festival – Kolkata, Pratyay Theatre Festival – Kolhapur, 12th Bharath Rang Mahotsav – New Delhi, 22nd National Drama Festival – Allahabad, 8th World Theatre Olympics-Chandigarh, Film and Television Institute of India-Pune. It was also performed in Chennai, Ahmedabad, Indore, Bengaluru etc. Vinay Varma was also invited by the Society of Friends International, London, to stage Main Rahi Masoom.^[12] On 2 March 2018, Main Rahi Masoom celebrated its 50th show, at Ravindra Bharathi, Hyderabad, India. He directed Sutradhar's debut Marathi play, Passwala. It premiered on World Theatre Day 2024 in Hyderabad. Passwala brings to life Jayant Pawar's (senior journalist & playwright) dialogue with a crematorium keeper in Worli, Mumbai.^[13]

As a Theatre Director, some of his well-known plays are:

• John Pielmeier's Agnes of God.^[14]
• Dr. C.H. Phansalkar's Isosceles Triangle.
• Birjees Qadar Ka Kunba, an Urdu adaptation of The House of Bernarda Alba.^[15]
• Pinki Virani's Bitter Chocolate.^[16]
• Badal Sarkar's Ballabhpur ki Roopkatha
• Dr. Shanker Shesh's Raktbeej.
• Dr. Shanker Shesh's Phandi.
• Dr. Prem Janmejai's Sita Apaharan Case.
• Sagar Sarhadi's Kisi Seema Ki Ek Mamooli Si Ghatna.
• Surendra Verma's Maranoparant.^[17]
• Neem Hakim Khatar e Jaan, a Hyderabadi adaptation of Le Médecin malgré lui.^[18]
• Saadat Hasan Manto's Siyaah Haashiye (co-directed with Deepti Girotra).^[19]
• Ismat Chughtai's Ismat – Ek Aurat.^[20]
• Gandhi Ambedkar and Main Nathuram Godse (co-directed with Prof. Bhasker Shewalker)
• Mah Laqa Bai Chanda, based on the life of Mah Laqa Bai, an 18th-century Urdu poet and the first woman to have a diwan (anthology) of her work.^[21]
• Kanjoos Makkhi Choose, a Hyderabadi adaptation of The Miser.^[22]
• Nirmal Verma's Weekend.^[23]
• Dushala ^[24]

Workshops

Varma has been conducting Acting, Voice, and Body Language Workshops at Sutradhar since 1999, and has identified and trained more than a hundred talents. Actors trained by him include Vijay Varma,^[25] Sree Vishnu, Aditi Sharma (Ahana of Kasam Tere Pyaar Ki), Vijay Deverakonda,^[26] Anand Deverakonda,^[27] and Aberaam Varma.

Theatre

	Play	Language	Actor/Director	!scope="col" class="unsortable"	Notes
1	Aarop	Hindi	Actor
2	Bitter Chocolate	Hindi/English/Hyderabadi	Actor/Director
3	Bus Stop	Marathi	Actor
4	Deathwatch	Hindi	Actor
5	Four Dimensions	Hindi/English	Actor/Director
6	Gadha Ya Aadmi	Hindi		Voice-over for a leather puppetry show
7	Gandhi Ambedkar	Hindi	Actor/Co-Director
8	Godse – An Assassin speaks	Hindi/English	Actor/Co-Director
9	Good Bye Swami	Hindi	Actor
10	Inspector Matadeen Chand Par	Hindi	Actor
11	Isosceles Triangle	English	Actor/Director
12	Jaal – Dramatised play reading	Hindi	Actor/Director
13	Kissa Karodimal Ki Laash Ka	Deccani/Hyderabadi	Actor/Director
14	Kanjoos Makkhi Choose	Deccani/Hyderabadi	Actor/Director
15	Main Nathuram Godse	Hindi	Actor/Co-Director
16	Main Rahi Masoom	Hindi/Urdu	Actor
17	Maranoparant	Hindi	Actor/Director
18	Natasamrat	Hindi	Actor
19	Neem Hakim Khatar e Jaan	Hindi	Actor/Director
20	Oleanna	English	Actor
21	On Vacation	English	Actor/Director
22	Pushp	Hindi	Actor	Directed by Dr. Rammohan Holagundi for Nishumbita Theatre Festival
23	Raktbeej	Hindi	Actor/Director
24	Room No 13 Block No 14	Hindi	Actor
25	Saiyyan Bhaye Kotwal	Hindi	Actor/Director
26	Shanivaar ke 2 Baje	Hindi	Actor
27	Sita Apaharan Case	Hindi	Actor/Director
28	Siyaah Haashiye	Urdu	Actor/Director
29	Stronger Than Superman	Hindi	Actor
30	The Stronger	Hindi/English	Director
31	Voids, Spaces & Borders	Hindi/English	Actor/Director
32	Andhere Mein [28]	Hindi	Actor/Director
33	Weekend [29]	Hindi	Director
34	Abbey! Em Ledu [30]	Telugu	Director
35	Aadhi Raat Ke Baad [31] [32] [33]	Hindi	Director
36	Dushala [34]	Hindi/Bengali	Director
37	Passwala [35]	Marathi	Director
38	Ek Se Badhkar Ek	Hindi	Actor
39	Five	English	Actor	Written by Sreekumar Varma and directed by Ajit Chitturi for Thespian en, Chennai – 2017
40	Jungle Book	English	Actor	Directed by Vaishali Bisht for Children’s Theatre and Film Festival

Filmography

Telugu films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Love	Pakistani terrorist
2002	Nee Thodu Kavali	Manasa's father
2004	Tapana	Siddhu's father
2005	Danger	Tantrik
2006	Veedhi	Sivanna
2009	Ninnu Kalisaka	Father of heroine
2012	Nippu	Police Commissioner of Dubai
	Ko Antey Koti	Inspector Ranjit Kumar
	Dream	Doctor
2014	Anaamika	DCP Ravi Chandra
2016	Gentleman	David
	Terror	DCP V. Rathod
	Zindagi
2018	Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava	Timma Reddy
	Idam Jagath	Police Commissioner Vikram Simha
2019	Evaru	Banerjee
		George Reddy	Minister Ramayya
	Meeku Maathrame Cheptha	Uncle
	Dorasaani	Raja Reddy
	Boy
2020	V	Saadik Haasan
	IIT Krishnamurthy	ACP Vinay Varma
2021	Zombie Reddy	Bhooma Reddy
	Naandhi	Nagendra
	Aakashavaani	Dora
	Drushyam 2	CI J. Prathap
2023	Waltair Veerayya	Police SP
	Meter	DGP Dileep Raavath
	Music School	Govind Rao Bhaskar Rao Kulkarni	Also co-wrote dialogue and casting director
	Aadikeshava	Vijay Mohan
2024	Dhoom Dhaam	Narendra Bhoopathi

Hindi films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Tu Hi Meri Ganga	Loknath
2002	16 December	Home Minister Shiv Charan Shukla
2004	Rudraksh	Mantrik
2008	Mukhbiir	Ismail
2010	Knock Out	Police Commissioner
2011	Laadli Laila (Virgin Goat)	Butcher
2014	Yeh Hai Bakrapur	Singhania
	Bobby Jasoos	Tasawwur's father
2022	Jersey	Major Krishna Rao
2023	Music School	Govind Rao Bhaskar Rao Kulkarni	Also co-wrote dialogue and casting director
2024	Fighter	Debyajyoti Biswas "Debu"

Web series

Year	Title	Role	Platform	Language
2019	Sacred Games	NSA	Netflix	Hindi
2020	A Simple Murder	Politician Pran Dawas	Sony Liv	Hindi	[36]
2021	Game	Organ racketeer	Hotstar	Telugu
2022	Qubool Hai?	Rafique Pehelwan	aha	Hyderabadi, Telugu	[37]

Television

• Peter the 2 (Television film)
• Madhavi
• Daanav Hunters
• Dharti Baney Phulwari
• Naghme ka Safar
• Main Phir Janma Hoon (Television film)
• Bala
• Ek Kahani
• Manushulu-Mamathalu

Dubbing artist

• Rahul Dev - Akasa Veedhilo
• Tinu Anand - Anji
• Nassar - Okkadunnadu
• Panchatantra Stories on CVS ^[38]
• Raj Arjun - Dear Comrade
• Ilavarasu - Donga

External links

• Personal website

Notes and References

1. Web site: Guftagoo with Vinay Varma. Rajya Sabha TV.
2. Web site: All About Theatre. The Hindu.
3. News: Honour for Vinay. . 9 January 2013 .
4. News: Being Rahi Masoom Raza. . 27 April 2017 .
5. News: Living on the edge with passion. . 15 January 2010 .
6. Web site: Interview With Vinay Varma Interview : www.MumbaiTheatreGuide.com. www.mumbaitheatreguide.com.
7. Web site: Raktbeej Reality Bites. Deccan Chronicle.
8. Web site: Solemn soliloquy: Vinay Varma on playing Rahi Masoom Raza. Indulge Express.
9. News: 'Kanjoos Makhi Choose': The miser and his miseries. Lakshmi. Ramakrishna. . 28 March 2017 .
10. Web site: A Valiant Showcase . Deccan Chronicle.
11. News: Sutradhar's Oleanna — A Reflection On Academic Power Play. Times of India. 25 March 2018.
12. Web site: Hyderabad's play Main Rahi Masoom goes global. 25 June 2014.
13. Web site: A glimpse of life vis-a-vis death.
14. Web site: A big win for city. Deccan Chronicle.
15. News: Women on top. The Hindu. 26 August 2012.
16. News: Bitter truth. The Hindu. 25 June 2015.
17. Web site: MARANOPARANT. Mera Event.
18. Web site: College Day Celebration. Nav Bharat Times.
19. News: On a seriously satire note. The Hindu. 31 March 2011.
20. News: Insightful monologues. The Hindu. 9 October 2014.
21. Web site: A tale worthy to be told. Telangana Today.
22. News: Greed knows no bounds. The Hindu. 22 March 2017. Dundoo. Sangeetha Devi.
23. Web site: Sutradhar presents Weekend. Book My Show.
24. Web site: Dushala’s unspoken truth.
25. Web site: I'm in safe hands. New Indian Express.
26. Web site: Interview with Vijay Devarakonda. telugu360.
27. Web site: Dorasani Actor Vinay Varma About Anand Devarakonda | Vinay Varma Interview | Friday Poster . .
28. News: 'Andhere Mein' : A dark comedy, quite literally!. Krishna. Sripada. The Hindu . 6 August 2019. www.thehindu.com.
29. Web site: Sutradhar presents 'Weekend' Hindi theatre-plays Play in Hyderabad Tickets .
30. Web site: Make way for some Slapstick comedy. www.newindianexpress.com.
31. Web site: Theatre stands tall: Thespian Vinay Varma. The New Indian Express.
32. News: In Hyderabad, Nishumbita and Sutradhar's special productions for World Theatre Day. The Hindu. 24 March 2022 . Dundoo . Sangeetha Devi .
33. Web site: Aadhi Raat Ke Baad: Judge, robber and noisy neighbour. https://web.archive.org/web/20230330050654/http://epaper.deccanchronicle.com/articledetailpage.aspx?id=16257104. dead. 30 March 2023. Deccan Chronicle.
34. Web site: Dushala’s unspoken truth.
35. Web site: A glimpse of life vis-a-vis death.
36. Web site: A Simple Murder Review – A highly entertaining comedy series | klapboardpost. 21 November 2020.
37. News: 'Qubool Hai' web series review: The Telugu-Dakhani series scores on some fronts and engages partially . The Hindu . 14 March 2022 . Dundoo . Sangeetha Devi .
38. Web site: Panchatantra Hindi Animation Stories . .