VICKY KAUSHAL’S URI: HIT OR MISS?
Vicky Kaushal was prolific—and outstanding—in 2018. He charmed viewers in Netflix’s first Indian rom-com, Love Per Square Foot, and its anthology of short films, Lust Stories. He delivered a quiet, potent performance in Raazi and matched Ranbir Kapoor in Sanju, both box-office hits. And he capped off the year with an acclaimed turn as the best worst boyfriend in Manmarziyaan.
For Kaushal, the “surreal” year has still not sunk in. “I am glad to have earned the confidence of filmmakers I have dreamt of working with,” he says. “As an entertainer, you always want to reach out to a wider audience, and this year I was fortunate to be a part of such films. It has motivated me to keep pushing my boundaries.” The recent announcement that he will play the infamous Mughal ruler Aurangzeb in Takht, director Karan Johar’s ensemble drama slated to release in 2020, is further proof that Kaushal has arrived.
Will his first film of 2019 also be his first misstep? Uri: The Surgical Strike (set to release on January 11) is an action thriller. But the trailer has already drawn flak on social media for its antiPakistan jingoism.
Kaushal welcomed the criticism, saying “the job of a film is to start a discussion”, though he’d like people to see the whole movie before making a final judgement. Kaushal plays Major Vihaan Shergill, and he plays him loud, the trailer suggests. “They have to take it up a notch because he’s charging his troops to do the dirty job of going across the border and pulling the trigger because their duty demands them to do it,” says Kaushal. “He’s doing so because he wants them to come back alive.”
Based on the cross-border surgical strike conducted on September 29, 2016, in response to the Uri terror attack that killed 19 soldiers, the film centres on the planning and execution of the mission. Since the army operation is fresh in everybody’s mind, one can’t “be frivolous” or “take a lot of liberties”, says Kaushal. Filmmaker Aditya Dhar adhered to defence protocol and fictionalised the names and backgrounds of the armymen involved, but he stuck to facts when it came to the operation itself.
Kaushal was shooting Raazi, in which he plays a demure husband and Pakistani army officer, when the script for Uri came his way. Still, he had a hard time convincing himself that he could portray the aura and persona of an army officer. “It’s not just about yelling,” he says. “When you stand in front of 80 commandos and give orders, it should feel like you are doing it. The confidence to do so can’t be achieved overnight.”
Along with bootcamp training to bulk up, he used meditation techniques suggested by casting director Atul Mongia to get into his character. “He told me the way I breathe is very different from an army guy and that I need to match the rhythm of one,” says Kaushal. Setting aside 30-45 minutes daily for the exercise paid dividends. “In a few days, I felt connected. I was looking, walking and talking differently,” says the actor.
--Suhani Singh