It took an industrial visit for Vicky Kaushal to realise that the life of an engineer was not meant for him. The son of of action director Sham Kaushal instead chose the route of a struggler, starting off as an assistant director on Gangs of Wasseypur, and doing small parts in films like Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana and Bombay Velvet.
Vicky may have been connected to the film industry but he wasn’t ‘launched’, he had to ‘struggle’ to reach where he is today. “I never pondered during my struggling phase that I should have become an engineer as I knew that was not my life. I couldn’t have lived it, it would have been a very claustrophobic life. Here whatever be the struggles, I was enjoying it. I was breathing, I felt I was living my life. It was a beautiful phase. The struggles were there but never bogged me down. Even during the struggle period, I knew this is what I want to do,” the actor later said in an interview about changing his career path.
It was Masaan, a Neeraj Ghaywan directorial, which made people sit up and take notice of his talent. Vicky played a young man working on the ghats of Benares in the searing drama. The critically acclaimed film won at Cannes but Bollywood stardom was still a few paces away for Vicky.
He played supporting, but critical, roles in Meghna Gulzar’s Raazi and Rajkumar Hirani’s Sanju. The spotlight was on him and the audiences were watching closely for what comes next. It was Uri: The Surgical Strike that established him as a solo hero.
After 2018 and 2019, Vicky became a heartthrob, everyone’s favourite, every big banner’s must-have actor and every director’s dream actor. But what if we tell you his talent was unbeatable even before becoming this huge movie star? On his birthday, we take you back to the time when the silver-screen dream was just a twinkle in his eye. We revisit four of his videos from his acting schools, which have surfaced online recently.
When Vicky Kaushal played a South Indian:
Vicky Kaushal’s role in Sanju is considered one of his best performances but getting into the soul of a role is not new for him, and this video is proof.
Vicky Kaushal’s comedy act:
Here’s another video of Vicky Kaushal in which the actor can be seen pulling off comedy.
Vicky Kaushal in a corrupt police office avatar:
In this play, Vicky Kaushal features as a corrupt cop trying to impose himself on a lady seeking his help.
Can we declare him cameo-king already?
At present, Vicky Kaushal has much-awaited projects to his credit. The actor has Shoojit Sircar’s Sardar Udham Singh, Meghna Gulzar’s film based on the life of Sam Manekshaw and Yash Raj Films’ Mr Lele.
Here’s wishing Vicky Kaushal a very happy birthday!