THE RATIONAL ACTOR

With a stream of critical and commercial successes under his belt, Vicky Kaushal is buoyant about what lies ahead in terms of work. Yet it is in his personal life that he has experienced the most transformation.

- ANKUR PATHAK

Vicky Kaushal has had an extraordinary 12 months. They include a total of five releases, three of which had a steady run at the box office and two that didn’t quite have the run that was anticipated. Laxman Utekar’s Zara Hatke Zara Bachke was Kaushal’s surprise hit of the year, its success contesting the idea that only big tent-pole films serve the box-office appetite while Meghna Gulzar’s Sam Bahadur held a steady, dignified run despite facing stiff opposition from Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s provocative behemoth Animal. He topped it off with an extended appearance in Rajkumar Hirani’s Dunki, a soulless even if well-intentioned drama where his track generated the most amount of conversation and empathy. For a film featuring Shah Rukh Khan, that’s a remarkable feat.

Arm resting in a sling owing to an injury on the sets of the historical drama Chhaava, Kaushal appears to be relaxed, enjoying the unintentional break from a gruelling shoot. He’s also a bit of a nervous wreck as he begins filming for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Love and War in the second half of 2024. While sources close to this writer describe Bhansali’s epic saga as “Sangam meets Pearl Harbour”, Kaushal remains tight-lipped, only expressing his anxiousness and excitement at being directed by the maker.

When I give him a quick primer of the past year, Kaushal has a moment of self-reflection. He’s specifically proud of Sam Bahadur. Now it may look like a simple performance on paper, given that we’ve seen Kaushal play an army person in