Vicky Kaushal in Masaan was unflinching and brave without any of the manufactured bravado we associate with a Hindi film debut. He was just part of a narrative, a face in a rich and teeming ensemble cast but then you started to notice a shy smile, a gaze that lingered when he sparred over the spice quotient of street chaat with a girl he likes. It is a performance that grew with the story and then at some point peaked to become a towering sublime moment of catharsis that cannot be ‘performed’ or repeated but relived only in memory. His talent, it is easy to see, is not about in your face charisma.It is about small moments that at some point create a nuanced work of art where scale and minutiae go together.
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This year has acknowledged that fact and after all the accolades Masaan gathered at the Cannes Film Festival, his upcoming film Zubaan opened the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) in October.Vicky recalls iconic Korean actor and festival co-director Kang Soo-yeon telling him just how rare it was for a young actor like him to travel the world with two of his films in the same year. Says Vicky,“Before she said this,I had not realised the significance of what my first two films had achieved. I feel so fortunate and blessed. Zubaan was the first Indian film ever to open the Busan Film Festival and over 6,000 people attended the premiere show. I have never received love in such abundance from strangers. It is motivating and rewarding to read messages on social media and when people come up to me and say warm things. Professionally too, these films have opened doors and I am meeting people and discussing interesting projects. It is gratifying to know that your work has been recognised. Now, I need to push myself more to keep up with the opportunities.”
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This year has acknowledged that fact and after all the accolades Masaan gathered at the Cannes Film Festival, his upcoming film Zubaan opened the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) in October.Vicky recalls iconic Korean actor and festival co-director Kang Soo-yeon telling him just how rare it was for a young actor like him to travel the world with two of his films in the same year. Says Vicky,“Before she said this,I had not realised the significance of what my first two films had achieved. I feel so fortunate and blessed. Zubaan was the first Indian film ever to open the Busan Film Festival and over 6,000 people attended the premiere show. I have never received love in such abundance from strangers. It is motivating and rewarding to read messages on social media and when people come up to me and say warm things. Professionally too, these films have opened doors and I am meeting people and discussing interesting projects. It is gratifying to know that your work has been recognised. Now, I need to push myself more to keep up with the opportunities.”
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He is excited that he is working currently with two of his heroes, Anurag Kashyap and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in Raman Raghav 2.0, a film ostensibly based on a real life character known as Psycho Raman who committed a spate of murders in the 1960s.
Says Vicky incredulously, “I was the least important of all the Assistant Directors (ADs) on the sets of Gangs of Wasseypur a few years back when Anurag was directing and Nawazuddin Siddiqui was playing the lead. Everything I know about cinema comes from these two and today it feels surreal that I am working with them.”
While he picks more interesting films to work in, Zubaan directed by Mozez Singh may get a March release and says Vicky, “I play a conflicted character called Dilsher in the film. And his journey as the tagline says, is about learning to stand up after a fall. He is a lost soul who rediscovers the value of the roots he had abandoned. It is about his journey to find himself. It is about music that is integral to everything we love and to everyone’s life.”
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He agrees that the kind of work he is getting today would not have been available 10 years back. “An actor like me would have had a tough time visualising lead roles just a decade ago but today the audience wants to see diverse narratives that include the blockbusters driven by big stars like Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan and also independent films like Masaan. They want to see films that are driven by a strong narrative, characters and content that allows artistes to showcase their craft. I feel truly fortunate that I am in the right place at the right time,” says he.
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He laughs when told that to some, he appears to be an overnight success. He says,“I am only concerned about what I have learnt from my father (stunt director Shyam Kaushal). He has shown me by example that if you give more than a 100 per cent to what you are committing to right at this moment, it will ensure than your future is 100 per cent better than what you imagined it to be. I never imagined Masaan going to Cannes or Zubaan at Busan. Even now, when I work, I give everything I have to a role, it is not with an eye on the rewards. My only desire when I wake up from sleep is to go to work. And then to come back satisfied that I did the best I could.”
Meeting Harvey Keitel at Busan, taking a selfie with Michael Caine at Cannes, staying awake through the night after receiving a complimentary sms from Amitabh Bachchan are just some of the rewards that follow when you are Vicky Kaushal and living a hard-earned miracle.
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Reema Moudgil is the editor and co-founder ofUnboxed Writers, the author of Perfect Eight, the editor of Chicken Soup for the Soul-Indian Women, a translator who recently interpreted Dominican poet Josefina Baez’s book Comrade Bliss Ain’t Playing in Hindi, an RJ with Timbre Media and an artist who has exhibited her work in India and the US and is now retailing some of her art at http://paintcollar.com/reema. She won an award for her writing/book from the Public Relations Council of India in association with Bangalore University, has written for a host of national and international magazines since 1994 on cinema, theatre, music, art, architecture and more. She hopes to travel more and to grow more dimensions as a person. And to be restful, and alive in equal measure.