It’s been eight years since Vicky Kaushal stepped into mainstream cinema with Masaan, after doing a couple of brief roles in projects such as Bombay Velvet (2015) and Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana (2012). As he achieves new heights in his eight-year career, the actor shares that he doesn’t shy away from the pressures that come with stardom. 

“We (actors) don’t own stardom. It is given to us by the public,” says Kaushal, adding, “The pressure and responsibilities that come with it, if taken the right way, will help you grow as an artiste and as a human being.” 

The 35-year-old, whose last theatrical outing, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, turned out to be a hit, wants the audience to have high expectations from him. “I want people to care about my work and expect better, in fact the best, from me. When I started off on this journey, it was very clear that there are just two paths; first, where you can try to be better at your work so people care about what you do; second, where people will not be happy with your work and not care, hence no pressure,” explains Kaushal, saying that he was clear that he wanted to walk down the first path. 

Kaushal made a name for himself through projects such as Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) and Sardar Udham (2021). Reflecting upon his journey so far, the National Award-winning actor says, “Through the years, the biggest lesson for me has come from a poem by Rudyard Kipling, which says, ‘Success and failure both are imposters. Nothing should make you fly too high, nothing should make you feel bogged down too much’.”  

Having said that, Kaushal points out that whatever happens with every film after Friday has “to do with destiny”. “I just focus on learning, no matter what happens,” he ends.