JOIN US'I'm open to all kinds of roles and challenges'
With his gentleman-like personality, charming looks and towering stature, actor Vicky Kaushal is nothing less than an upcoming talent in the film industry.
At 27, he has made a few minor appearances in movies like Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana, Bombay Velvet and Vasan Bala’s Geek Out and “wants to do all kinds of roles” that come his way.
However, he recently marked his debut lead appearance with Neeraj Ghaywan’s blockbuster Masaan, which hit the screens on July 24.
“Neeraj and I have been friends since Gangs of Wasseypur, for which I worked as an assistant director with Anurag Kashyap. I knew he (Ghaywan) was working for a Benaras-based film for the past two years, and when he showed me the pilot trailer of the movie, I found it very interesting. A few days later, I was called for the auditions for the main lead, and luckily, things fell in place,” says Kaushal, who was recently in the capital
during the sixth edition of the Jagran Film Festival.
While his role in Masaan is being appreciated and acknowledged by audiences,
it comes as a surprise that Kaushal hails from an engineering background.
“I had an engineering job letter in my hand, but I never took it. I desperately wanted to be an actor, even though acting was not a part of my plan. As a child, I never had thought what I wanted with my life. But I’ve always believed in giving 100 per cent to whatever I do. Today, my journey into the filmindustry is only five years old since Wasseypur (2010),” he tells Metrolife.
In Masaan, he plays the role of Deepak, a young boy from Banaras who belongs to a lower caste family that cremates bodies at the ghats and funeral pyres. Speaking of his hopes and expectations from the movie, which has already won international acclaim during the Cannes Film Festival, Kaushal says, “We have a lot of hopes from this movie. Since the resources were extremely limited, the entire cast of the film worked very selflessly.
Moreover, we knew something noble is being made. I am very glad that the film has made India and done Indian cinema proud on a global platform.”
Kaushal now looks forward to a variety of roles and doesn’t want to be restricted to any particular genre. “As an actor, I’m open to all kinds of roles, risks and challenges. My whole objective of being an actor is to entertain people and make sufficient profits for the producers. At the end of the day, I just want to be convinced with the script and the story of my character,” he elucidates.
What’s in store for his fans in future? “I am coming up with debutant director Mozez Singh’s Zubaan. Produced by the makers of the award-winning film Lunchbox, the movie will be released later this year,” he says.