Vijay Verma opens up about battling depression and how Ira Khan helped him recover

Actor Vijay Varma recently opened up about a very personal chapter of his life: his battle with severe depression, years of family conflict and the long road to healing. He also told how Aamir Khan’s daughter Ira Khan helped him overcome it.

Appearing on Rhea Chakraborty’s podcast, Vijay shared that his emotional struggles started early, which led to his turbulent relationship with his father. “He was flamboyant, angry, unpredictable,” Vijay recalled, describing how admiration gradually turned into alienation. She added, “He loved me, but he wanted a lot of things from me that I didn’t want – my career, my friends, even how I spent my time. Everything about me bothered him.”

As a teenager, he became close to his mother, whom he called his emotional support, even as tensions increased in the home. He said, “My father wanted me to join the family business, but his anger made it unbearable. The more I protested, the angrier he became.”

Theater became his only support and after taking admission in FTII, Vijay left home despite opposition. “I told him I had got a scholarship and it was a one-year course. He said something nasty and warned, ‘You’d better leave before I return.’ So I packed my bag and left. I didn’t want destruction,” he said.

The years that followed were full of struggle. “I did small jobs. Nothing worked until Gully Boy came along suddenly and changed my life,” he said. But success did not erase the wounds of loneliness.

During the 2020 lockdown, isolation increased his inner turmoil. “I was all alone in my Mumbai apartment. I had a small terrace – that sky saved me,” he said, adding, “This break made me realize how lonely I had become while constantly chasing work.” During this period, Aamir Khan’s daughter Ira Khan noticed his condition deteriorating and encouraged him to join her Zoom workout sessions.

“I was diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety,” revealed Vijay, “My doctor also suggested medication. I told him, ‘Let me try to manage for now.'”

Through therapy and yoga, years of unprocessed emotions resurfaced. He said, “I had never talked about so many things. During Surya Namaskar, I would collapse and cry for hours without knowing the reason.”

Reflecting on how childhood wounds shape adult relationships, Vijay said, “This shows up in your love life. Unless you talk about them, you keep repeating patterns. This comes from attachment styles – especially avoidant attachment. When you’ve seen close relationships fail you as a child, love starts to feel like fear. So you push people away.”

Vijay Verma will be next seen in ‘Gustak Ishq’. It is scheduled to release on November 21, 2025.