Vicky Kaushal’s joshis currently high – he has tasted box office success, is excited about his upcoming projects, and is enjoying his married life, which, in his own words, has helped him evolve.
Vicky says, “I knew I didn’t fit the quintessential hero archetype. Initially, I just wanted opportunities to showcase my love for acting and my ability to act. It’s not that I had 10 scripts to choose from. I didn’t choose a ‘Masaan’ or a ‘Zubaan’; they chose me.” In a conversation with us, the actor talks about how he confronted his insecurities, the way he views success, and staying true to his core.
Talking about how he spent years fine-tuning his craft, Vicky says, “I was never in a rush to be in front of the camera or be a hero. I always had a realistic picture of the industry because of my father (action director Sham Kaushal). I observed the harsh reality and realised that there are no second chances. At the end of the day, it is showbiz, where people are putting money on you. You must make them believe that you know your work and are passionate about it. I spent around six years training myself in the craft and worked as an assistant director trying to
understand the process.”
‘While auditioning, I had to confront my own inferiority complexes’
The actor admits that, in the beginning, he would be overcome by inferiority complex “for not being a gora chitta, with a typical hero kind of body”. He recalls, “I was exactly the opposite of that. In the beginning, when I would tell people, ki mujhe acting karni hai toh unke face par ek question mark hota tha. Honestly, when I started auditioning for films, I had to confront my own inferiority complexes. I knew I didn’t fit the quintessential hero archetype, who would get a typical launch. Initially, I just wanted opportunities to showcase my love for acting and my ability to act. It’s not that I had 10 scripts to select from. I didn’t choose a ‘Masaan’ or a ‘Zubaan’; they chose me.”
‘Box-office is important but not at the cost of the purity of the art form’
Over the years, Vicky’s career trajectory boasts of films that are both content-driven and commercially viable. Ask him how much the box office matters, and he says, “Box-office success is crucial because filmmaking is also a form of business with art as its steering wheel and money being the engine that helps to produce that art. While the box-office collection is important for reasons like being able to tell more stories, in the end, I feel the ecosystem of making films has to also focus on the purity of the art form.”
‘Materialistic things will keep changing, but your core doesn’t change’
Vicky admits to being overwhelmed by the response to ‘Zara Hatke Zara Bachke’, but while he enjoys success, the actor says that the change happens on the outside, and deep down, nothing much has really changed. “When you evaluate change at just the surface, then it is that you have moved into a bigger house or driven a bigger vehicle. However, these are materialistic things that will keep changing. At the core, I don’t think anything has changed.”
Vicky with Katrina Kaif
‘I couldn’t have asked for a better companion than Katrina’
Talking about changes that marriage bought in his life, Vicky says, “I have evolved beautifully. Living with someone is a learning experience. I have come to realise that when two people come together, they create a common ground of understanding and meet halfway, and embark on a beautiful journey together. It’s an incredibly exciting and enriching experience. I have been married for over a year and a half now, and I have learnt that it is not just about my perspectives, opinions, or schedules but about the union of two individuals. The truth is that I couldn’t have asked for a better companion than Katrina to live this journey.”
