While he was nervous about how his first theatrical outing since the pandemic, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke (ZHZB), would do on the big screen, Vicky Kaushal is now in a “super positive mindset”, thanks to the way the audience accepted his film. The actor adds, “It has made me hungry to give more than my 100% in whatever I do next.”

Kaushal feels that content has taken precedence in such a way that the audience doesn’t care about the stars or production house associated with a film these days. “I was nervous if people would turn up at the theatres as the film isn’t a visual spectacle, mounted on a big scale or high on action. But, the audience doesn’t discriminate on the basis of budget, stars or cast anymore. They just come to the theatres to connect to the story and characters that we show them,” says the actor.

This year, a lot of Hindi films failed to rake in the moolah. But, the 35-year-old isn’t worried. “People’s love is our motivation to bring stories [to the big screen],” he says, adding, “I had my reservations about ZHZB, but the joy of looking at packed theatres and people resonating with our film’s middle-class values and struggles, goes beyond numbers.”

Talking about staying “detached” from a film’s fate, he adds, “After a film is released, it’s no longer yours. It belongs to the audience.”