Is Vicky Kaushal the next BIG thing in Bollywood?

Back in 2015, Vicky Kaushal appeared in a film called Masaan, an underrated gem that deserved a much wider audience and a much larger appreciation. But all the attention went on to another debutant by the name of Sooraj Pancholi, who was debuting with Salman Khan’s home production, Hero, a remake of Subhash Ghai’s 1983 blockbuster of the same name. This continued in 2016 as well, when Sooraj won the Filmfare (The so-called India’s Oscars) Award for the Best Debut (Male).

This was the moment when people realized the farce and hoax the award ceremonies in India are. What was an incredibly moving and choking performance by Kaushal, was completely overpowered by Pancholi’s well-toned torso and oiled abs, as his face emoted nothing but blankness. Well, that’s in the past, today, Vicky Kaushal is one of the busiest actors in the industry with as many as four films in the first half of 2018 itself. Love Per Square Foot, Raazi, Lust Stories and Sanju, all offer a different and unknown side to Kaushal’s acting prowess.

The emotional vulnerability and nakedness in his breakdown scenes in Masaan, Raazi and Sanju immediately make you empathize with his plight and sufferings. Even when pitied against a far more layered and experienced artist like Nawazuddin Siddiqui in Raman Raghav 2.0, a psychotic and disturbing thriller, he manages to leave a lasting impression with his portrayal of a drug-addict police officer, who finds himself drawn to the psyche of this hideous and sadistic serial killer.

Raazi may have been an Alia Bhatt show, but here too, Kaushal’s character had multiple layers, that slowly and gradually peeled-off as he got emotionally closer to his wife. From shyness to intimacy to heartbreak, his performance required far more emotions than Bhatt’s.

And finally in Sanju, despite being saddled with stereotypical accent and stale Gujarati jokes of mispronouncing snacks as snakes and hall as hole, the actor showed a supporting character, the best friend of the hero, can be as impactful as the hero himself. He gets a great scene where he reaches to Sunil Dutt’s house inebriated, begging him to save his son and explaining him how and why it’s okay to be ordinary.

That dialogue could be used for Kaushal as well. In an industry incessantly hinging on beefed-up and mesomorphic heroes, here’s an actor who’s stealing the show even in supporting characters and consolidating that ordinariness can be celebrated too!

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