Things got a bit awkward for Vijay Varma on stage at an award show in Australia. The actor was recently at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) 2026, where he won the Best Performance award for his role in the series Matka King. When he went on stage to collect his trophy, content creator Dolly Singh, who was hosting the segment, called him the “nation’s biggest red flag”.
While congratulating him for his win, Dolly Singh spoke about his image of playing intense and morally grey characters. She said that whenever Vijay Varma enters a film or a show, the audience starts wondering who is going to get into trouble and what his character will do next. Referring to this on-screen image, she jokingly called him the nation’s biggest red flag.
Vijay did not stay quiet and replied with humour. He joked that people should just buy a piece of red cloth, keep it at home and make as many flags as they want. Dolly quickly hit back and called it a lame joke. Vijay then gave another funny reply and said that he would just ignore her terrible compliments.
Here is the video clip:
https://www.instagram.com/reels/DcI2iU1NXcH/
Click to watch this video directly on Instagram
Soon after the video of this exchange went viral on social media, many people reacted and said that Dolly’s comment was not appropriate. One user commented that it was very awkward to watch. Another user wrote that you reap what you sow.
On the work front, Vijay was last seen in Matka King, which is a crime drama directed by Nagraj Manjule. The story is set in Mumbai’s matka gambling world in the 1960s and 1970s. In the series, he plays the role of Brij Bhatti, a man who comes from a humble background but builds a big gambling empire.
In the last few years, Vijay has made a special place for himself by choosing different and unusual roles in films and web series. Shows and films like Dahaad, Jaane Jaan and Darlings have made his reputation even stronger for playing characters that are morally complex and have many layers.
It was a good reply by Vijay Varma, what do you say?
