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'Theatre is an actor's medium'

Soaring high
Last Updated 03 February 2016, 18:39 IST

The effervescent and grounded person that he is, actor Vicky Kaushal had made an indelible mark in the award-winning film ‘Masaan’.

An electronic engineer-turned-actor, he garnered great appreciation from bigwigs in Bollywood for his acting prowess. 

Vicky was in the City recently to promote his upcoming movie ‘Zubaan’, which is directed by debutant Mozez Singh.  Dressed like the boy-next-door, he showcased his dance moves and mouthed his lines from the movie. In a chat with Prajna GR, he gets candid about his life — on and off screen.
 
Tell me about your role in ‘Zubaan’...

My character’s name is Dilshesh who is from a small village in Punjab. A young chap, he gets lost in life. He has big dreams and wants to pursue them. In the process, he realises his true self — through music. It is a character who faces conflicts. I have two looks in the movie as I am playing a ‘sardar’. The role talks a lot about faith — of losing it and then gaining it back. The film is about going away from the roots and coming back to it — hence the two looks.

Why did you pursue engineering if you aspired to become an actor?

The dream to be an actor was always there subconsciously. As a kid I was a tied-up introvert. I used to feel liberated when I was on stage. Stage always gave me the opportunity to break away from the shell and be shameless, which was very liberating for me. But I was into academics and cricket as well. Mathematics was my favourite subject, one thing led to another and I ended up in an engineering college. But in my second year of college, I was taken on an industrial visit where I was introduced to an engineer’s life. Thank god for that visit, I realised that I did not want to lead the monotonous life of an engineer! I wanted to get into something that really made me happy and that is when the performer in me popped out.

Tell me about your tryst with theatre.

If you are a singer, you do ‘riyaz’ and it trains you. Theatre is like a ‘riyaz’ for any actor. The thought of involving myself in theatre came to me when I was the assistant director for ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’. In the film, every actor had a theatre background and when I saw them perform, it was magical. That is when I realised that theatre has a very important hand in sculpting and polishing your craft. Cinema is a director’s medium and theatre an actor’s medium.

Will ‘Zubaan’ bring out the true actor in you like ‘Masaan’?

I have tried my best to do that. There could be pressure on me after my performance in ‘Masaan’. But I do not see it that way. I want to try and think that every film I do is my first film. Nobody knew who Vicky Kaushal was, so nobody was expecting anything from me in my debut film. But now I feel proud as whoever knows me as an actor, knows me for my acting skills in ‘Masaan’. I like to be honest every time I make a film .

Tell me one secret of yours...

I will reveal two-three...(laughs). I hate dressing and that is one thing I am always expected to do after becoming an actor. It is a huge task. I have never worn a watch in my life and I do not own one.

The best thing about you...

I like all the movies I watch. I cannot not like a film. Whenever I watch a film, even if there is one thing that I like, I feel I am not cheated and that I appreciate about myself.

The worst thing...

Hmm...(thinks a lot). I am sure I have a lot, but I hate the fact that I cannot recollect anything bad in me right now, which is not good!

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(Published 03 February 2016, 16:10 IST)

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