Son of popular Bollywood action director Sham Kaushal, Vicky Kaushal tossed aside his engineering degree to join the family business of “not having a secure job”. After assisting Anurag Kashyap on Gangs Of Wasseypur, he made a quiet start with Vasan Bala’s short film Geek Out, before finding his way into Neeraj Ghaywan’s powerful little indie Masaan. Playing Deepak, a crematorium worker from the lower-caste Dom community, brought with it many sleepless nights. First from multiple viewings of Children Of The Pyre (Ghaywan-prescribed homework), and then from spending weeks on Varanasi’s Manikarnika Ghats, watching endless cremations. Eventually, Kaushal reached a point where he could “watch a body being burnt and grumble about the sugar in my tea.” If it all seems too grim, Kaushal’s second release promises a shift in mood: “Zubaan is a fun, coming-of-age story of a guy from rural Punjab who’s scared of music.”
Photograph: Manasi Sawant; Styling: Nidhi Jacob; Make-up and hair Mitesh Rajani. On Vicky: Poplin shirt and leather loafers; both Gucci. Wool trousers, Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna. Wool jacket, Dior Homme
First published on August 20th 2015
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