Ira Khan pushed me, says Vijay Varma: ‘I was deteriorating fast in that apartment’

New Delhi: Actor Vijay Varma has opened up about a difficult phase in his life, revealing that Aamir Khan’s daughter, Ira Khan, played a key role in helping him cope with severe depression and childhood trauma.

In a candid conversation with Rhea Chakraborty on her podcast Chapter 2, Varma reflected on his turbulent relationship with his father and how it shaped much of his emotional life.

“When I was a little boy, I was fascinated by my father. He would go off on business tours and return with goodies. He had a very dynamic personality – flamboyant, short-tempered, unpredictable. That kept me both surprised and shocked,” he said.

Varma added that things changed as he entered his teenage years. “My love for my father took a beating when I became a teenager. He loved me, but he wanted so many things from me that I didn't want – my career, my friends, even how I spent my time. Everything about me seemed to bother him,” the Dahaad actor recalled.

“That Sky Saved Me”

Speaking about the period when he was diagnosed with severe depression during the Covid-19 lockdown, Varma said he felt increasingly isolated.

“I was all alone in an apartment in Mumbai. I had a small terrace – that sky saved me. The pause made me realise how lonely I had become while constantly chasing work,” he shared.

As his mental health deteriorated, Ira Khan, who has openly advocated for therapy and mental health awareness, stepped in to help. “I kept deteriorating. Ira was the first to say, ‘Vijay, you need to start moving.’ She made me join Zoom workouts. She was like my coach,” he said.

“She Told Me Therapy Isn’t Bad”

Varma said that he had bottled up emotions for years until therapy and yoga helped him confront them. “I had not opened up about many things, but yoga and therapy helped me address them,” he said, recalling moments when he “cried for hours without knowing why.”

He credited Ira Khan with helping him take the first step towards seeking help. “She told me therapy isn’t bad. Coming from a dysfunctional family, if you don’t sort things out, it leaves a lasting mark. You think you’ve forgotten childhood hurt, but the subconscious remembers,” he said.

Reflecting on how early experiences affect relationships, Varma concluded, “When you experience the failure of close relationships as a child, love begins to look like fear, and hence the tendency to push away people develops.”