Vicky Kaushal on 'Uri': I learned something new with each step

Vicky Kaushal recently told us that to him, the year 2018 feels surreal. It started with the Netflix film Love Per Square Foot and spilt on to Raazi, where he shared the limelight with Alia Bhatt. But Vicky stood tall with his portrayal of Iqbal, a Pakistani Army officer. He also made an impact in the anthology film Lust Stories, as a married man, who fails to see his wife’s sexual dissatisfaction. In both, Sanju and Manmarziyaan, which followed, the actor only went from strength to strength.

While Vicky has grown as an actor over the years, many still remember his raw and soulful act in his debut film Masaan (2015). The scene in which he breaks down and cries out, ‘Ye saala dukh kaahe khatam nahin hota’, gives one goosebumps. The actor admits that he’s received that reaction from many people, particularly for that scene. “That was one of the truest moments for me as an actor,” he recalls. Vicky tells us that although the scene was edited and shortened, he was actually crying for six minutes! “I don’t know what came over me. I started howling and it came from somewhere deep within. I really felt it. Six minutes is a long time to keep crying. It felt like a dam had burst and I couldn’t stop crying. They had to hold me and calm me down,” he adds. 

For somebody who started with theatre and graduated to assisting directors, then to small and finally lead roles, it’s been a slow and steady journey for the actor. And Vicky wouldn’t have it any other way. “I’m very grateful for the pace at which I’ve got things. It’s because of those hardships and those small parts that I don’t take anything for granted. I know I’ve not jumped steps and it makes me less fearful of failure. It also makes me secure. I got to learn something new with each step and I’m blessed that it happened this way,” he concludes. 

The Sanju actor will next be seen in Uri: The Surgical Strike, which is based on the true events of 2016 when the Indian Army avenged the terrorist attack at the Uri Army Basecamp in Kashmir by carrying out a surgical strike.