Vijay Varma, recognized for his performances in Pink, Mirzapur and Gully Boy recently opened up about his skin condition vitiligo as he prepares for his upcoming film IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack. He disclosed to ETimes that he keeps his condition a secret during filming to minimize distractions, but he decides not to disclose it when appearing in public.

"I don’t want the audience to focus on anything other than my performance, which is why I hide it for movies," Varma clarified. "But outside of that, I’ve never been concerned about covering it up." He mentioned that the audience these days is more empathetic and accountable noting that he has not received any backlash for his vitiligo.

Vitiligo is a condition that leads to a loss of skin pigment causing white spots to appear on the skin. While it may have posed a challenge for Varma in the early stages of his career he mentioned that his skin condition no longer impacts his work now that he has firmly established himself in the industry. "We make it a big deal because it is visible, but I’ve never made a big deal out of it," he said, stating the analysis of appearance in the film world.

The real-life hijacking episode that shocked the country in 1999 is strongly portrayed in the series. In the highly anticipated Netflix series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack, Vijay Varma takes on the role of Captain Devi Sharan, the pilot of the Indian Airlines Flight 814, which was hijacked. Directed by Anubhav Sinha, the show premieres today, August 29 and also stars renowned actors Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur and Dia Mirza.