The rise of Vicky Kaushal: A look at the groom to be’s career milestones

Vicky Kaushal started his journey in the film industry as an assistant director to Anurag Kashyap in the 2012 crime film, Gangs Of Wasseypur.

Later that year, the actor made his debut with a small role in Kashyap's co-production, Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana. He played young Omi, the grown-up version of who was played by Kunal Kapoor.

It was in 2015 that he marked his debut as a lead actor in Neeraj Ghaywan's debut directorial, Masaan, where he was paired opposite Shweta Tripathi Sharma. The film won him wide critical acclaim, including many best debut awards.

2018 proved to be a game-changer in his career. He made his foray into the digital world with a romantic comedy, Love Per Square Foot. He was lauded for his performance, and for taking a risk with a web film when the concept of OTT projects just began gaining momentum in India.

That same year, the 33-year-old actor bagged the male lead opposite Alia Bhatt in Meghna Gulzar's Raazi, where he played a Pakistani military man. The film propelled him to mainstream fame and it marked the first of many of his commercial hits. Raazi landed him many nominations for best actor and best supporting actor.

He made his return to the OTT space with a short film directed by Karan Johar, which was a part of the anthology film Lust Stories. His portrayal of a middle-class married man besotted with his wife won him many laughs.

Ranbir Kapoor starrer Sanju saw Kaushal playing the best friend, Kamli. While most best friends get relegated to the periphery, the Rajkumar Hirani film fuelled his popularity and soon, he became a name to reckon with. He went on to win many awards for best supporting actor.

But what truly proved to be a turning point in his career is the 2019 Uri: The Surgical Strike based on the events that took place in response to an attack by Pakistan-based terrorists on an army base in Kashmir's Uri in 2016. The film was a commercial blockbuster as it raked in more than ₹200-crore at the box office. Kaushal was also honoured with the National Film Award for best actor. The dialogue 'How's the josh?' mouthed by Kaushal's Major Vihaan Singh Shergill created frenzy among audiences. The Aditya dhar directorial maybe credits for putting the actor in the league of A-listers.

This year saw the release of Sardar Udham, where Kaushal played the titular role. The OTT film, based on the life of Udham Singh, a freedom fighter from Punjab who avenged the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, helped the actor garner praises.

Currently, he is awaiting the release of Shashank Khaitan's Govinda Mera Naam, Meghna Gulzar's Sam Bahadur and Laxman Utekar's untitled next opposite Sara Ali Khan.