By: Lifestyle DeskNew Delhi | September 19, 2025 10:30 PM IST 5 min readActor Vijay Varma may be known for his dark, complex characters on screen, but step inside his home, and you meet someone else entirely. “I’m a homebody,” he tells Architectural Digest in a home tour video. “I like being at home when I’m not working. I don’t really holiday much. So the home needs to feel like a holiday home.”That idea, of building a sanctuary, not just a space, guides every corner of Vijay’s Mumbai home. Designed to reflect his love for solitude, stories, sneakers, and cinema, the apartment is warm and intimate, yet unpredictable. “My brief to [the designers] was I want to make this space a little more intimate, more cosy, more me. A little eclectic, a little contemporary.”From the outset, Vijay had a strong vision for how his home should feel. “I said I wanted a lot of texture in the house. I wanted lighter colours,” he explains. “The entire flooring is brown-heavy, and even that wall… there’s a lot of wood and brown around. So I wanted to bring in some lighter tones.”To create that sense of belonging, life and art fill every space. “A lot of plants, a lot of life, and a lot of art,” he adds. From curated bookshelves to handpicked corners, the house is segmented into intimate zones. “We’ve created several different corners—like this is the living area, that’s my entertainment unit, and that’s where I keep most of my books. These are not all—I’m still looking at more books to keep at different places.”Vijay’s books, comics, and childhood heroesFor someone who once tread the experimental theatre circuit, the books on his shelves aren’t just décor. “These are all my Hindi books. Books I picked up during my theatre days. Every time I go to Prithvi Theatre, I pick up more books.”And in a move that might surprise some, a whole section of his bookshelf is reserved for comics. “These are all Sandman series—Neil Gaiman’s iconic work. And these—Super Commando Dhruva, Nagaraj. These were my heroes growing up. These are our homegrown DIY superheroes. I love them.”As you explore deeper, the home reveals itself like a living autobiography. There’s a framed letter from Amitabh Bachchan that holds a special place on the wall. “This is special. This is a letter sent to me by Mr Bachchan on February 22, 2019. This is the reason why I stopped giving auditions.”Story continues below this adThere’s a portrait that feels like a self-reflection. “This was gifted to me by my friend and designer Karan Torani after a campaign we did together. He got some artists to paint a picture of me. This makes me feel like there are many moods of me—and these are all me in various times of the day.”Then there’s the tiny snake figurine, picked up from his very first film set, Chittagong, in 2010. “I bought this for like 20 rupees.”Of sneakers and sentimentIf there’s one thing that rivals Vijay’s love for art and books, it’s sneakers. “Please come—the love of my life, my sneakers,” he says with a smile. His collection began in 2018, sparked by a gift. “The first [pair] was gifted to me by director Anurag Kashyap. He gave me New Balance shoes and I wore them—and I fell in love with them.”The rest of the house continues like a memory map. A Bruce Lee poster from the set of Janja, a nod to both his character and his real-life admiration for the martial arts icon, hangs between his vanity and bedroom. “Me and my father both are obsessed with Bruce Lee.”Story continues below this adThen there’s the most personal room, the bedroom. “This is the only room where I’ve indulged in a lot of my own images,” he confesses. The walls are covered in posters of Wong Kar-wai’s films, another cinematic inspiration.Vijay ends with a sentiment that truly captures the spirit of the place. “A home is an extension of who you are. If there is no synergy between who you are and the space you live in, then there is a certain kind of imbalance.”He built this home, not for trends or aesthetics, but for truth—for who he really is. “I wanted to make the space as much me as I can. So it gives you an idea of who this person could be.”And in that, he’s succeeded. His home isn’t just beautiful—it’s alive with story, soul, and stunning contradictions. Just like him. For more lifestyle news, click here to join our WhatsApp Channel and also follow us on Instagram© IE Online Media Services Pvt LtdTags:Vijay Varma