How Actor Vicky Kaushal At 36 Bagged: A National Award, Cannes Recognition And 20 Plus Films As the National award winning actor Vicky Kaushal turns 36 on Thursday, here we look at his 12 years journey, which started from 2012.

As the National award winning actor Vicky Kaushal turns 36 on Thursday, here we look at his 12 years journey, which started from 2012.

Bombay Boy's Journey

After finishing his degree in engineering, the Bombay boy, though born and brought up close to the business of cinema and his father being the celebrated action director Shyam Kaushal, he never had to deal with the 'N' word, 'nepotism'. Perhaps, it is because of the pure talent he is, that everyone noticed from his first prominent release 'Masaan' and his portrayal of Deepak Kumar, a youngster from Dom family.

While his acting skill impressed the critics and audience alike, he also became the national crush for all girls including the content creator Prajakta Koli overnight.

The actor has grown up from being a lad of 24 years to a man of 36, and currently the better half of Bollywood superstar Katrina Kaif.

Versatile Actor

With playing variety of characters – be it the drug addict police officer in Raman Raghav 2.0, to a DJ in Manmarziyaan, a Gujarati boy in Sanju to Major Vihaan Singh Shergill, Udham Singh, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw in films like - Uri: The Surgical Strike, Sardar Udham, and Sam Bahadur respectively – the audience observed his emotional and physical transformation as an artist.

Sharing one of such physical transformation anecdotes Vicky said in one of his earlier interviews, "The story captures the 35-year journey of Sanjay Dutt. So it starts from when 'Rocky' released, Sanjay was 22, and my character's age was 20. I had to lose weight to look like a lean young Gujarati guy to an aged man of the present time... I went through a huge physical transformation."

However, this was not the first time for him or any actors for that matter to go through physical transformation for a film. Though, he has a different perspective on the whole process, as once he said in the past, "I think physical transformation is a part of the performance now for an actor. And I see no wrong in that. Gone are those days when a mainstream Bollywood hero will build up a physique only to look good. Perhaps that is why I lost 8kg for my film 'Masaan' and Aamir Khan gained weight for playing an aged father in 'Dangal'. I think that is the good part of these changing times in our cinema, where everything is happening based on the requirements of the story and not just for vanity."

Commercial Work

Being the face of some of the most successful commercial films including Uri with a box office collection of approximately 342 crore rupees, (the film was made in rupees 25 crores) Raazi with 195.75 crore (the film was made under the budget of rupees 40 crores) and Sam Bahadur with 128.17 crore (the film was made under the budget of 55 crore rupees), Vicky is also the celebrity spokesperson of Havells, Reliance Trends, and Oppo to be mentioned, and according to media reports, is charging ₹20 million (US$250,000)—₹30 million (US$380,000) annually per brand.

Upcoming Projects

Currently the actor is working on two films – Bad Newz and Chhava. While Bad Newz is produced by Karan Johar, also featuring Ammy Virk and Trupti Dimri, in the film Chhava, which is a period drama, Vicky is playing the character of Chhatrapati Sambhaji, the Maratha ruler of 1682-1689.

He will also be seen in the Sanjay Leela Bhansali film titled Love & War, alongside Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt.

Though this is not the first time he will be part of an ensemble cast as he worked with Ranbir in Sanju, he does not take any unnecessary pressure before any big release. In his own words, from one of the past media conversations, "I think all my films have a different journey. Therefore, I take it as it comes. Of course, when I am playing the protagonist of the film, before the release, I feel a certain pressure because I become the face of the film then and I have a major responsibility. But then, every film has its own fate."

Let the world wait and watch, what's the fate of his next…

Masaan : Released in 2015, the film premiered at the Cannes film festival and not only received multiple awards and critical appreciations but also a lot of love from the audience. Vicky won the best debutant awards at Zee Cine Awards, 22nd Screen Awards.

Raazi : Released in 2018, based on real life spy story, the film was directed by Meghna Gulzar, featured Alia Bhatt in title role, Vicky's performance as Iqbal Syed was highly appreciated.

Sanju : A biopic on the controversial superstar of Bollywood Sanjay Dutt released in 2018, the Rajkumar Hirani directorial won the hearts of the audience that reflected at the box office collection of Rs. 587 crores. Vicky played the pivotal role of Kamli, a Gujarati boy, Sanju's best friend and received a lot of love for the same.

Uri: The Surgical Strike : Vicky's portrayal of Major Vihaan Singh Shergill and the dialogue between the officer and the cadets in military academies – 'how is the josh', 'high Sir' went viral and eventually became a cultural phenomenon.