When Vijay Varma says he found the script of Kaalkoot “unputdownable,” it carries weight. After all, here is an actor who seems to be attracting powerful stories—be it Darlings (2022) or Dahaad. But he had another reason to gravitate towards director Sumit Saxena’s crime drama. It has him portray a positive character after a spate of negative roles.

“Playing an idealistic, wide-eyed police officer like Ravi Shankar [his character in Kaalkoot] was a refreshing homecoming. In 2013, I started my journey as an actor by playing a police officer in Monsoon Shootout, and now after 10 years, I’m playing a similar role again,” he says.

The Jio Cinema series, also starring Shweta Tripathi Sharma, revolves around Varma’s cop who initially seems unfit for the job, but throws himself into it when a case hits too close to home. “He steadily understands himself through his work. I have been part of some good dramas, but Kaalkoot was unputdownable. It starts with an acid attack case, and then, over eight episodes, delves into how other characters are involved in such attacks.”

Varma is known to dive deep into research and prep for his roles, and it was no different for Kaalkoot. Since the story is set in Prayagraj, he worked with a diction and voice coach to perfect the accent.

“The bigger challenge was to find the naiveté of an inexperienced idealist. To be naïve is tough for so-called thinking actors. In Kaalkoot, it was my personal pursuit to act dumb.”

Barring the upcoming series, playing complex and troubled characters has become the actor’s calling card. Surely, such characters must not be easy to shake off after the shoot. Varma has a simple “detox” process.

“When a character gets to me, I go and talk to my mother. I step out of my character and become her son again. That’s the best form of love any actor can have to become themselves again. The talk brings me back to reality.”

So, will he show the crime drama to his mother? “It has been a while since I have asked my family to watch anything as I play dark characters. But I’ll ask my mother to watch this because I’m playing a nice guy after a long time,” he laughs.