Page 94 - October 2018 converted

in that in the middle of a walk, a meeting or eating, you start smiling. You are so
overwhelmed with the love you are getting,” the actor says.
If stardom comes along with enviable perks, it also brings with it mammoth,
nerve-wracking expectations from the audience and the industry who want you to
keep the magic rolling. But for Vicky expectations are something he enjoys.
“When you take this journey of becoming an actor, there are only destinations –
one where people give you that limelight and expect the world from you, and two,
they don’t know who you are and they don’t care what you are doing. You have to
choose where you want to go. I have worked hard to reach here. I wanted them to
expect good things from me. I wanted them to have an image of me.
“Expectations don’t scare me because I have worked towards them. I want people
to expect better things from me with every film. I never want to be in a position
where they don’t expect anything from me. I want to be in a position where if they
are expecting sun from me, at least I will be able to reach the moon,” he says.
As the actor talks about his journey, Anurag Kashyap’s mention is inevitable. Much
before his debut as a lead actor, Vicky assisted Anurag for a couple of years, in-
cluding on Bombay Velvet in which he also had a cameo.
The mentor-prodigee relationship has now turned into a friendship.
“Anurag sir and I have had a beautiful journey as human beings. It’s been from
him being my mentor to now being my buddy, I was scared when I thought I was
working with my mentor. I am very much at ease when I know I am working with
my buddy. That happened in a very organic way. It happened on Manmarziyaan.
“It could be because of the space that the film was in or the space that the char-
VICKY KAUSHAL: unleash and go berserk with this character because I know it’s inside you.’ I tried
acter was in, where Anurag sir told me, ‘I would not limit you to anything. You just

doing that and he was very happy. That somewhere led to this friendship,” he adds.
STARDOM MAKES Having been directed by him in three films, Vicky, perhaps, understands Anurag’s
working process better than other actors. That he would give both his arm and
leg to work with him again is because Anurag works on his actors in a subliminal
manner.
YOU SMILE FOR “He is very intimate with his

actors. He is not someone
who will hold the mic and say,
NO REASON ‘Arey, do like this or that.’ If

there’s something, he will
come up to you and say it
in your ears. He never tells
n 2015, Vicky Kaushal made his Bollywood debut with Masaan, which you how to perform. He talks
was first offered to Rajkummar Rao. Today, with back-to-back suc- about the thought process.
Icesses, Vicky is being hailed as the Rajkummar Rao of 2018. Vicky ‘Think about this and then try
is basking in the glory of Lust Stories, Raazi, Sanju and now Manmar- to do this. Imagine this world
ziyaan. and this has happened to you
And the actor can’t stop grinning ear to ear. “It feels very overwhelming. and now this is what you want,’ he tells you this way.
It’s not just for me, but for my entire family. They are in a very happy “He wants to touch the deepest core of your heart. He doesn’t want just the surface
space right now. The films that I got to work on and them doing good level to improve. He asks you to draw references from who you are. That’s what
and then people appreciating your work in it,” he tells in an interview. brings all the change,” Vicky says.
“It is probably the best validation, the best compliment that when some- Looking at the future, the actor is beaming with excitement to have landed Karan
body says you are getting good things in life and you deserve this. I Johar’s next directorial feature, Takht.
have had a journey where I have knocked at many doors and after all To top it, Vicky will essay the character that was rumoured to have been offered to
that journey, when people say you deserve to sit on this chair, that really Ranbir Kapoor earlier. “This makes me feel ticklish. I don’t know what that emotion
feels good. It motivates you. It feels that if you get this after working is so I said it makes me feel ticklish. But that’s why you feel it’s surreal because of
hard then why not work harder? the kind of trust the director has in you.”
“This appreciation, love motivate me to do that. It just makes you smile
for no reason. It’s a beautiful phase to be in. It’s a beautiful space to be

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