A portfolio of 20 films in a career that is a decade old for Vicky Kaushal. And a record of six real characters played in these films. That’s a neat 30 percent—surely an awesome penchant for showing real on reel and growing as an actor?
A source close to the actor revealed, “He has also green-lit couple of projects now that also fall in this category.” Clearly, not only is Vicky looking at enacting such roles, but also seems to be the choice for the industry to essay them.
Said his father, legendary stunt coordinator Sham Kaushal, “When you come into this industry, you cannot be choosy. You have to look for work and take up whatever comes your way to make a mark! I feel blessed that my son is not only getting great roles but also is in a position to choose!” When I asked him which is his favourite among these six ‘real’ roles, he said, “Look, I am both a father as well as his admirer! I cannot pick any single role!’
Raazi (Directed by Meghna Gulzar)
Though fictionalized in part, Vicky played real-life Indian protagonist Sehmat (played here by Alia Bhatt)’s Pakistani soldier-husband, Iqbal. Vicky’s brief was to break the stereotypical depiction of Pakistani army men as cruel and crude human beings. Every soldier on both sides, he felt, was fighting for his nation. The character of Iqbal was kept gentle and emotional, and Vicky excelled in that role.
Sanju (Rajkumar Hirani)
In Sanju, Kaushal played Sanjay Dutt’s best friend, Kamlesh, a fictionalized mix of various real-life friends of the actor. Vicky spent a lot of time with one of them—Paresh Ghelani, who served as the primary inspiration for the role.
URI—The Surgical Strike (Aditya Dhar)
“I was told by many well-wishers not to sign Vicky Kaushal for my debut film as he was an ‘art film actor’ and he would not be able to carry a film on his own!” Aditya Dhar told me. “But today, I am very proud of where he has reached!”
While the line, “How’s the josh?” was made cult by Vicky’s intonation, the film became the biggest earner of 2019 in terms of ROI, grossing over Rs. 340 crores worldwide on a budget on Rs. 44 crores. Vicky became a viable solo star with this film. What’s more, he won the National Best Actor award for portraying Major Vihaan Singh Shergill.
A method actor, Vicky gained muscle weight, went on a ketogenic diet, and went through five months of military and Mixed Martial Arts training.
Sardar Udham (Shoojit Sircar)
Vicky told the media then, as a 20-year-old, he had to reduce a lot of weight. But when Udham Singh was in his thirties and beyond, he had become a big man with a broad face, and Vicky thus had to put on a lot of weight to get that look too. “I had two months to drop 15 kilos for the young phase and 25 days to bring it all back!” said the actor.
But Shoojit Sircar primarily wanted him to get into the mind of Sardar Udham Singh. He had told Vicky, “Unless you feel what he was thinking, I won’t be able to see that in what Sardar Udham Singh said and did.” And Vicky found that part the most challenging. “I had to understand and know a person who was having that pain for eight years after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. This was that film I could not plan sitting in my vanity van because it was about really, genuinely feeling his emotions, and letting them come across. I really had to just internalize everything and be in that moment. Between ‘Action!’ and ‘Cut!’ I had to isolate myself from my own world and come into another in a more internal, emotional way!” Vicky had revealed. The film had to release on OTT as theatres were shut during the pandemic. And the actor was appreciated even more than the film!
Sam Bahadur (Meghna Gulzar)
Meghna Gulzar, even before the release of Raazi, had signed Vicky for Sam Bahadur. This time, Vicky bagged some more awards for his performance as the Parsi Army Chief, who went on to become India’s first Field Marshal: Sam Manekshaw. Vicky stated, “I had to walk or talk not like myself. I had to create a different personality by making my instinct, my impulse, my physicality and tonality all about his character. It was a great opportunity, and I had to deliver!”
All the audio-visual references were inadequate, the actor stated. “The interviews we were shown were after his retirement! They were all in English, which he spoke with a British accent. The tricky part was to convert that into a Hindi conversational dialogue.” And Vicky did it—seemingly—effortlessly.
Chhaava (Laxman Utekar)
“Vicky Kaushal’s career can be divided into two parts: as actor and as a star!” opines trade analyst Taran Adarsh. “As an actor, he has never repeated himself and has always delivered even when his films have not been up to the mark. But as a star, Chhaava is his first film that opened with a double-digit figure as high as Rs. 30 crores. Week one is over with Rs. 225 crores and while Rs. 300 crores is a given, even higher figures are possible. Because they know that he can always be banked on to give his everything to a role, filmmakers are now opting for him to play such characters. Who else today could have played Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj so well? And Chhaava’s producer Dinesh Vijan has now cast him in Mahavatar as Lord Parshuram. Add the fact also that Vicky is always ready to challenge himself.”
So whether he is fighting a lion bare-handed (as had actually happened with the Maratha warrior king) or suffering torture at the hands of Aurangzeb in Chhaava, Vicky has now become the go-to hero to project real, intense characters. As the actor once summed it up, “I would say these characters keep evolving me rather than changing me, and not just as an actor, but also as an individual. I could be playing a freedom fighter and then going into a completely different role, but I have to give a 100 per cent to each character. More than the trait of a character, the knowledge you get out of that world gives you a different perspective towards life.”
Also Read: Vicky Kaushal starrer Chhaava declared tax-free in Goa
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