<p>The effervescent and grounded person that he is, actor Vicky Kaushal had made an indelible mark in the award-winning film ‘Masaan’. <br /><br /></p>.<p>An electronic engineer-turned-actor, he garnered great appreciation from bigwigs in Bollywood for his acting prowess. <br /><br />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.<br /> <br />Tell me about your role in ‘Zubaan’...<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Why did you pursue engineering if you aspired to become an actor?<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Tell me about your tryst with theatre.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Will ‘Zubaan’ bring out the true actor in you like ‘Masaan’? <br /><br />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 . <br /><br />Tell me one secret of yours...<br /><br />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.<br /><br />The best thing about you...<br /><br />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.<br /><br />The worst thing...<br /><br />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! <br /></p>
<p>The effervescent and grounded person that he is, actor Vicky Kaushal had made an indelible mark in the award-winning film ‘Masaan’. <br /><br /></p>.<p>An electronic engineer-turned-actor, he garnered great appreciation from bigwigs in Bollywood for his acting prowess. <br /><br />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.<br /> <br />Tell me about your role in ‘Zubaan’...<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Why did you pursue engineering if you aspired to become an actor?<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Tell me about your tryst with theatre.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Will ‘Zubaan’ bring out the true actor in you like ‘Masaan’? <br /><br />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 . <br /><br />Tell me one secret of yours...<br /><br />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.<br /><br />The best thing about you...<br /><br />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.<br /><br />The worst thing...<br /><br />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! <br /></p>
