Vicky Kaushal - Liberated By His Approach To Making Movies And Managing Frame

On the revolutionary road with Amazon Prime Video's Sardar udham | Vicky Kaushal attacks stereotypes to balance expectations, films and family —crafting an ecosystem that is public and private in equal measure

- Sonali Velinker Kamat

Textured suit, Dinkar Aneja; Knit pullover and snood, Selected, Sunglasses, Stylist's own

BIOGRAPHICAL films make Vicky Kaushal feel boxed in. “It’s like enjoying yourself in a playground, while being acutely aware that there’s a fence,” says the actor. Given that Vicky has hit it out of the park with his performances in Sardar Udham, on Amazon Prime Video, and Uri: The Surgical Strike, and is now heading into filming for Sam Bahadur (all biopics), his statement is laced with irony. “There’s a responsibility that comes with essaying a part that is based on a real-life character and you do feel the weight of that — especially when the person is a national hero. You can take certain cinematic liberties, but only while being constantly conscious that this isn’t fiction,” he clarifies.

Yet, somewhere along this revolutionary road, Vicky Kaushal has found freedom: he doesn’t dwell on whether he will be typecast as an actor, he won’t commit to a romantic comedy just to break the mould and he can’t be bothered with updating his Instagram page daily just because someone expects it of him. That’s the sort of freedom that comes on the back of one box office blockbuster after another and Vicky is grateful for it.