There isn’t much that shocks a veteran reality television enthusiast. Shows that allow the audience to delve into and devour the lives of others from the comfort of our snug homes have become a popular format now. However, nine years back, when a 19-year-old Varun Sood took off his pants for a Roadies audition in 2015, he captured the audience’s attention. There was a boy – passionate about adventure – standing uninhibited on national television for that one chance to make it big.
Varun’s audition clip often resurfaces on the internet. Varun, who is now a full-fledged actor and 27 years old, exclusively told News18 Showsha that it wasn’t a part of his plan. “The makers edited the whole thing. They asked me to do it. I didn’t do it willingly. Who would do it willingly? That’s stupidity. I narrated an incident to them from one of my National games and told them that I’d done something like this. They said, ‘Okay, do it right now.’ I was a 19-year-old guy who was very comfortable doing whatever he had to do, but when I saw the episode, I was like, ‘Wait, I didn’t initiate it’. They showed it like I did it on my own,” he said.
Nearly nine years later, Varun was recently seen in the web series Karmma Calling, wherein he played Raveena Tandon’s son, Ahan Kothari. However, much like his now-viral Roadies audition, becoming an actor was never a part of Varun’s plan. He told us, “I was just figuring it out when I was with MTV. I was signed with them as a VJ. I enjoyed what I was doing with them, but there was no plan that I had to start acting or auditioning. It just happened that I took a workshop and fell in love with the craft. Then there was no looking back from there. So, if my older self told me, ‘Hey, Raveena Tandon will be playing your mother,’ I would not believe that.”
Varun added, “It’s any actor’s dream to work with a legend like Raveena Tandon. She’s humble, down-to-earth and very sweet. She focuses on building on characters. It’s a rare quality in some people – they would rather want the scene to work and not for them to shine. That’s a special quality I saw in her. It was very sweet of her to guide me, help me out with a lot of things, make me comfortable and wish well for everybody on the show.”
Varun’s switch from reality television to professional acting has been rather satisfying for him. While the internet has been abuzz with Varun Sood’s fan edits for nearly a decade, the actor has only found them satisfying now. “I used to ask myself, ‘Why am I celebrated for being myself?’ I get it, people like that I am real, genuine. But I used to think that I’m not supporting it with any craft behind it,” he said.
Varun continued, “Now, having been a part of a show like this and having done two more shows which are releasing on big platforms, there is a sense of validation that people are appreciating you for the work that you’ve done. It’s a great feeling right now. There is talent behind all of this. Initially, I was confused when all of this started with Roadies, but now it’s a lot more satisfying that people are appreciating you for the art that you give to them.”
As for the switch from Varun to Ahan for Karmma Calling, he said, “More or less all of my life was in front of the people. So, when I was growing up and got all the attention, it became normal to me. But the public eye did not affect Ahan Kothari that much because he stayed away from it. I found Ahan Kothari similar to Varun Sood in terms of how he is as a person, but I had to work towards his emotional quotient. I don’t think Varun Sood has a high emotional quotient. Ahaan feels things and dwells on them.”
Amid all the praise Varun is garnering for playing Ahan, there are reports that he will soon be seen in Ananya Panday’s upcoming Amazon Prime web series, Call Me Bae. However, Varun maintains, “You will know when you will know. I can tell you one project is hopefully coming out in March.”
As for Karmma Calling, the thriller drama is available to stream on Disney+Hotstar.
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