Vicky Kaushal (pronounced [ˈʋɪkːi ˈkɔːʃəl]; born 16 May 1988) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards, and has appeared in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list of 2019.After graduating with an engineering degree from Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kaushal began his career by assisting Anurag Kashyap in the crime drama Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) and played minor roles in films. His first leading role was in the independent drama Masaan (2015), following which he starred in Kashyap's psychological thriller Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016). Kaushal gained wider recognition in 2018 with supporting roles in the top-grossing dramas Raazi and Sanju, winning the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for the latter. A starring role as a military officer in the 2019 war film Uri: The Surgical Strike established Kaushal as a leading actor and won him the National Film Award for Best Actor. He earned further praise for his portrayal of Udham Singh in the biopic Sardar Udham (2021), winning the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor, and had commercial success in the romantic comedy Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, the biopic Sam Bahadur and the comedy-drama Dunki (all 2023). The last of these won him another Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.In addition to his acting career, Kaushal endorses several brands and products, and has co-hosted and performed at award ceremonies. He is married to actress Katrina Kaif.

Early life and background

Kaushal was born on 16 May 1988 in a suburban chawl in Mumbai to Sham Kaushal, an action director in Indian films, and Veena Kaushal, a homemaker. His younger brother, Sunny, is also an actor. His family is Punjabi Hindu who hail originally from Hoshiarpur. Kaushal has described himself as a "regular kid who was interested in studying, playing cricket and watching movies". His father was keen on his son having a stable career away from show-business and thus, he graduated with an engineering degree in Electronics and Telecommunications from Mumbai's Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology in 2009.During an industrial visit to an IT company in his graduation year, he realised that he had no real interest in an office job and began aspiring to have a career in film. He studied acting at Kishore Namit Kapoor's academy while simultaneously participating in theatre with Manav Kaul's Aranya group and Naseeruddin Shah's Motley Productions; doing everything from backstage and announcements to stand-ins. Kaushal would spend the next two years going for various kinds of auditions, but did not get any good opportunities. His first attempt at acting was in a theatrical production titled ''Laal Pencil'' in 2011.Kaushal started his career in films by working as an assistant director to Anurag Kashyap in the two-part crime drama ''Gangs of Wasseypur'' (2012). Kaushal has described fond memories of working with Kashyap, whom he considers as his mentor. He then played minor roles in Kashyap's productions ''Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana'' (2012) and ''Bombay Velvet'' (2015), and the short film ''Geek Out'' (2013).

Early life and work (1988–2016)

Kaushal was born on 16 May 1988 in a suburban chawl in Mumbai to Sham Kaushal, a stuntman and subsequent action director in Hindi films and Veena Kaushal. His younger brother, Sunny, is also an actor. His family is Punjabi Hindu. Kaushal has described himself as a "regular kid who was interested in studying, playing cricket and watching movies". His parents were keen on their son having a stable career and thus, Kaushal pursued an engineering degree in electronics and telecommunications from Mumbai's Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology. During an industrial visit to an IT company, he realised that an office job would be unsuitable for him and began aspiring to have a career in film. He briefly took on an engineering job and began accompanying his father to film sets.He studied acting at Kishore Namit Kapoor's academy and worked as an assistant director to Anurag Kashyap in the two-part crime drama Gangs of Wasseypur (2012). Kaushal has described fond memories of working with Kashyap, whom he considers as his mentor. He also began working on stage with his first acting job in Manav Kaul's production of Laal Pencil. In film, Kaushal played minor roles in Kashyap's productions Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana (2012) and Bombay Velvet (2015), and the experimental short film Geek Out (2013).

Kaushal played his first leading role in the independent drama Masaan (2015), directed by Neeraj Ghaywan. Kaushal and Ghaywan were both assistants on Gangs of Wasseypur, and he was cast in the film after Rajkummar Rao backed out. To play a young man from a low socio-economic class yearning for a better life, Kaushal spent time in Benaras, where the film is set, and observed the mannerisms of local men. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard segment at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where it won two awards, including the FIPRESCI Prize. Masaan earned critical acclaim and The New York Times considered it to be a leading example of increased realism in Indian cinema. Nikhil Taneja of HuffPost termed Kaushal's performance "poignant and memorable" and Anuj Kumar of The Hindu wrote that "he effortlessly conveys both the inferiority complex and the attitude of breaking through the caste cauldron". His performance won him the IIFA and Screen Awards for Best Male Debut, and a nomination for the Asian Film Award for Best Newcomer, among other accolades.The 2015 Busan International Film Festival marked the release of the drama Zubaan, which Kaushal had filmed before Masaan. His role was that of a grieving man who starts stammering after the death of his father. He worked with a speech therapist to learn stammering patterns and spent time with some of the doctor's patients. After completing work on the film, Kaushal found it difficult to distance from the character and began to stammer in real life. His performance led Justin Chang of Variety to label him as a "charismatic, naturally engaging talent". In Kashyap's psychological thriller Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016), Kaushal played a drug-addicted police officer in pursuit of a serial killer portrayed by Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The troubled and unbalanced character had little in common with Kaushal's own personality, and to convince Kashyap to cast him, he lived in isolation for five days and kept repeating lines from the script. Writing for Rediff.com, Aseem Chhabra found his performance "brave" and added, "If there is one big surprise in Raman Raghav 2.0, it is Vicky Kaushal’s star-making performance." Both Zubaan and Raman Raghav 2.0 failed to find a wide audience at the box office.

Career

To play a young man from a low socio-economic class yearning for a better life, Kaushal spent time in Benaras, where the film is set, and observed the mannerisms of local men. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard segment at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where it won two awards, including the FIPRESCI Prize. ''Masaan'' earned critical acclaim and ''The New York Times'' considered it to be a leading example of increased realism in Indian cinema. Nikhil Taneja of ''HuffPost'' termed Kaushal's performance "poignant and memorable" and Anuj Kumar of ''The Hindu'' wrote that "he effortlessly conveys both the inferiority complex and the attitude of breaking through the caste cauldron". His performance won him the IIFA and Screen Award for Best Male Debut, and a nomination for the Asian Film Award for Best Newcomer, among other accolades.''Zubaan'', which Kaushal had filmed before ''Masaan'', was screened at the 2015 Busan International Film Festival. His role was that of a grieving man who starts stammering after the suicide of his father. He worked with a speech therapist to learn stammering patterns and spent time with some of the doctor's patients. After completing work on the film, Kaushal found it difficult to distance from the character and began to stammer in real life. His performance led Justin Chang of ''Variety'' to label him a "charismatic, naturally engaging talent". In Kashyap's psychological thriller ''Raman Raghav 2.0'' (2016), Kaushal played a chain-smoking, drug-addicted police officer in pursuit of a serial killer portrayed by Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The troubled and unbalanced character had little in common with Kaushal's own personality, and to convince Kashyap to cast him, he lived in isolation for five days and kept repeating lines from the script. He also severely dehydrated himself and smoked heavily, impacting his health. Kaushal chose the role because he was eager to avoid typecasting from his first two films. The film premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, in the Directors' Fortnight section to a positive response. Writing for ''Rediff.com'', Aseem Chhabra found Kaushal's performance "brave" and "surprising".Kaushal achieved his breakthrough in 2018. He played the male lead of the romantic comedy ''Love per Square Foot'', India's first original film from Netflix. Shweta Ramakrishnan of ''Firstpost'' considered the chemistry between Kaushal and his co-star Angira Dhar to be the film's highlight. It was screened at the Beijing International Film Festival later in 2019. Kaushal next featured in Meghna Gulzar's spy thriller ''Raazi'' (2018), based on Harinder Sikka's novel ''Calling Sehmat''. Set during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, the film tells the real-life story of a young Indian spy (played by Alia Bhatt) who marries a Pakistani army officer (Kaushal). He was drawn to the humanity he found in the story and worked towards conveying both vulnerability and authoritative strength in his character. Meena Iyer of ''Daily News and Analysis'' commended Kaushal for being "the correct foil" to Bhatt's character.Kaushal's biggest commercial success of 2018 came with Rajkumar Hirani's ''Sanju'', a biopic of the troubled actor Sanjay Dutt, who was portrayed by Ranbir Kapoor in the film. Kaushal played his best friend Kamli, a fictionalised amalgamation of various real-life friends of Dutt. In preparation, he spent time with Paresh Ghelani, who served as the primary inspiration for the role. Samrudhi Ghosh of ''India Today'' wrote that he "holds his own against Ranbir's superlative performance, and shines in the funny as well as emotional scenes". Both ''Raazi'' and ''Sanju'' proved to be among the highest-grossing Hindi films of 2018, and with earnings of over , the latter ranks among Indian cinema's biggest grossers. For ''Sanju'', Kaushal won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor (tied with Gajraj Rao for ''Badhaai Ho''). In his final release of the year, Kaushal reunited with Kashyap for ''Manmarziyaan'', a love triangle set in Punjab, co-starring Taapsee Pannu and Abhishek Bachchan. Kaushal played the role of Vicky Sandhu, a local DJ whose commitment issues lead to conflict in his romantic relationship with Pannu's character. The film premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival and met with positive critical reception. Anupama Chopra took note of how well he used silences to convey his character's pain and desire. Shilpa Jamkhandikar of ''Reuters'' found him to be "at once petulant, childlike and suddenly cheerful, bringing a vulnerability to Vicky that saves him from being the villain of the piece."In 2019, Kaushal starred as a military officer in ''Uri: The Surgical Strike'', an action film based on the 2016 Uri attack, directed by Aditya Dhar and filmed in Serbia. To prepare, he gained muscle weight, practised a ketogenic diet, and underwent five months of military training and mixed martial arts sessions. He injured his arm while filming an action sequence in it. Uday Bhatia of ''Mint'' found Kaushal to be a "fetching stoic lead" but bemoaned the lack of depth in his character. Rajeev Masand took note of the film's jingoism but opined that Kaushal "brings both the bulked-up physicality and the sort of steely determination that the part requires". ''Uri'' earned in India, and over worldwide, making it the tenth highest-grossing Indian film domestically. Kaushal was awarded with the National Film Award for Best Actor (shared with Ayushmann Khurrana for ''Andhadhun'') and received his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.A year later, Kaushal starred in the horror film ''Bhoot – Part One: The Haunted Ship'' (2020), as a grief-stricken shipping officer. He suffered an accident during the filming of an action sequence and fractured his cheekbone. Saibal Chatterjee of ''NDTV'' found Kaushal to be "earnest" in a film he dismissed as a "horrific misfire". The film received critical acclaim, particularly for Kaushal's performance, with Chatterjee calling it his best performance to date. Subhash K. Jha of ''Firstpost'' shared the same opinion, adding "Kaushal's Udham Singh is a performance laced with grace, tinged with bitterness, and defined by a dormant rage". For his performance, Kaushal won the IIFA Award for Best Actor and the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor, in addition to his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.Keen to work in a light-hearted film after the "emotionally exhausting" experience of ''Sardar Udham'', Kaushal starred as a struggling dancer accused of murder in the comic thriller ''Govinda Naam Mera'' (2022). It received a streaming release on Disney+ Hotstar. Despite disliking the film, ''India Today'' Tushar Joshi was appreciative of Kaushal's against-type comic performance in a masala film. The following year, Kaushal starred opposite Sara Ali Khan in the romantic comedy ''Zara Hatke Zara Bachke'', about a small-town couple struggling for privacy.. ''Scroll.in''s Nandini Ramnath opined that Kaushal "turns on the lovey-dovey charm and has a moving scene-stealing moment all to himself, which gives ''Zara Hatke Zara Bachke'' a semblance of a purpose". It marked his first film to release theatrically since ''Bhoot – Part One'' in 2020. Against expectations, it emerged as a commercial success. Kaushal took another part of a small-town man in the family film ''The Great Indian Family'' (2023), saying that he enjoyed the process of portraying middle-class aspirations and simplicity. Kaushal took another part of a small-town man in the family film ''The Great Indian Family'' (2023), saying that he enjoyed the process of portraying middle-class aspirations and simplicity. Reviewers for ''Hindustan Times'' and The Quint took note of how much his performance enhanced a mediocre film. It had minuscule box-office collections. In his second collaboration with Meghna Gulzar, Kaushal portrayed India's first field marshal, Sam Manekshaw in the biopic ''Sam Bahadur''. Kaushal and Gulzar were keen to make the film historically accurate without taking many creative liberties. To portray Manekshaw in his less-documented younger years, Kaushal relied on meetings with Manekshaw's grandson. Critic Shubhra Gupta commended Kaushal for playing Mankeshaw "without becoming a caricature". It was a modest commercial success. Kaushal had a brief role (billed as a special appearance) in Hirani's comedy-drama ''Dunki'', starring Shah Rukh Khan and Pannu. A reviewer for Film Companion believed that his appearance had greatly benefitted the film. Kaushal received further Filmfare nominations for his performances in ''Sam Bahadur'' and ''Dunki'', winning Best Supporting Actor for the latter.The year 2024 will mark the release of Anand Tiwari's romantic comedy ''Bad Newz'', starring Kaushal and Triptii Dimri. Kaushal will also star as Chhatrapati Sambhaji in the historical biopic ''Chhaava''.

Breakthrough (2018–present)

Kaushal achieved his breakthrough in 2018. He was first seen as the male lead of the romantic comedy Love per Square Foot, India's first Netflix original film. Shweta Ramakrishnan of Firstpost considered the chemistry between Kaushal and his co-star Angira Dhar to be the film's highlight. He next featured in Meghna Gulzar's spy thriller Raazi (2018), based on Harinder Sikka's novel Calling Sehmat. Set during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, the film tells the real-life story of a young Indian girl from Kashmir (played by Alia Bhatt) who marries a Pakistani army officer (Kaushal) to spy for Indian intelligence. He was drawn to the humanity he found in the story and worked towards conveying both vulnerability and authoritative strength in his character. The film emerged as one of the highest-grossing Hindi films featuring a female protagonist and Meena Iyer of Daily News and Analysis commended Kaushal for being "the correct foil" to Bhatt's character. His second Netflix production of the year was the anthology film Lust Stories. It consists of four short films dealing with female sexuality; Kaushal was seen in Karan Johar's segment as a newly married man who fails to recognise his wife's (played by Kiara Advani) sexual dissatisfaction.Kaushal's most commercially successful release of 2018 came with Rajkumar Hirani's Sanju, a biopic of the troubled actor Sanjay Dutt, who was portrayed by Ranbir Kapoor in the film. Kaushal played his best friend Kamli, a fictionalised amalgamation of various real-life friends of Dutt. In preparation, he spent time with Paresh Ghelani, who served as the primary inspiration for the role. Rachit Gupta from The Times of India considered Kaushal's work to be "one of the finest performances in the film" and Samrudhi Ghosh of India Today wrote that he "holds his own against Ranbir’s superlative performance, and shines in the funny as well as emotional scenes". Both Raazi and Sanju proved to be among the highest-grossing Hindi films of 2018, and with earnings of over ₹5.79 billion (US$77 million), the latter ranks among Indian cinema's biggest grossers. In his final release of the year, Kaushal reunited with Kashyap for Manmarziyaan, a love triangle set in Punjab and co-starring Abhishek Bachchan and Taapsee Pannu. Anupama Chopra took note of how well he used silences to convey his character's pain and desire. For Sanju, Kaushal won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor (tied with Gajraj Rao for Badhaai Ho).In 2019, Kaushal starred as a military officer in Uri: The Surgical Strike, an action film based on the 2016 Uri attack, directed by Aditya Dhar and filmed in Serbia. To prepare, he gained muscle weight, practised a ketogenic diet, and underwent five months of military training and mixed martial arts sessions. He injured his arm while filming an action sequence in it. Uday Bhatia of Mint found Kaushal to be a "fetching stoic lead" but bemoaned the lack of depth in his character. Rajeev Masand took note of the film's jingoism and criticised the over-the-top characterisations, but opined that Kaushal "brings both the bulked-up physicality and the sort of steely determination that the part requires". Uri earned ₹2.4 billion (US$32 million) in India, and over ₹3.5 billion (US$46 million) worldwide, making it the tenth highest-grossing Indian film domestically. Kaushal was awarded with the National Film Award for Best Actor (shared with Ayushmann Khurrana for Andhadhun) and received a Filmfare Award for Best Actor nomination.A year later, Kaushal featured in the horror film Bhoot – Part One: The Haunted Ship (2020), produced by Karan Johar. He suffered an accident during the filming of an action sequence when he fractured his cheekbone. Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV found Kaushal to be "earnest" in a film he considered to be a "horrific misfire". Vicky played Sardar Udham Singh in Shoojit Sircar's Sardar Udham which released on Amazon Prime Video on 16 October 2021. It is based on the life of Sardar Udham Singh, a revolutionary freedom fighter best known for assassinating Michael O'Dwyer in London to take revenge for 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar. The film received widespread critical acclaim, particularly at Kaushal's performance with Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV calling it his best performance to date. Subhash K Jha of Firstpost shared the same opinion, adding "Kaushal’s Udham Singh is a performance laced with grace, tinged with bitterness, and defined by a dormant rage".

Early work in independent films (2015–2016)

To play a young man from a low socio-economic class yearning for a better life, Kaushal spent time in Benaras, where the film is set, and observed the mannerisms of local men. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard segment at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where it won two awards, including the FIPRESCI Prize. ''Masaan'' earned critical acclaim and ''The New York Times'' considered it to be a leading example of increased realism in Indian cinema. Nikhil Taneja of ''HuffPost'' termed Kaushal's performance "poignant and memorable" and Anuj Kumar of ''The Hindu'' wrote that "he effortlessly conveys both the inferiority complex and the attitude of breaking through the caste cauldron". His performance won him the IIFA and Screen Award for Best Male Debut, and a nomination for the Asian Film Award for Best Newcomer, among other accolades.''Zubaan'', which Kaushal had filmed before ''Masaan'', was screened at the 2015 Busan International Film Festival. His role was that of a grieving man who starts stammering after the suicide of his father. He worked with a speech therapist to learn stammering patterns and spent time with some of the doctor's patients. After completing work on the film, Kaushal found it difficult to distance from the character and began to stammer in real life. His performance led Justin Chang of ''Variety'' to label him a "charismatic, naturally engaging talent". In Kashyap's psychological thriller ''Raman Raghav 2.0'' (2016), Kaushal played a chain-smoking, drug-addicted police officer in pursuit of a serial killer portrayed by Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The troubled and unbalanced character had little in common with Kaushal's own personality, and to convince Kashyap to cast him, he lived in isolation for five days and kept repeating lines from the script. He also severely dehydrated himself and smoked heavily, impacting his health. Kaushal chose the role because he was eager to avoid typecasting from his first two films. The film premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, in the Directors' Fortnight section to a positive response. Writing for ''Rediff.com'', Aseem Chhabra found Kaushal's performance "brave" and "surprising".

Breakthrough and success (2018–2020)

Kaushal achieved his breakthrough in 2018. He played the male lead of the romantic comedy ''Love per Square Foot'', India's first original film from Netflix. Shweta Ramakrishnan of ''Firstpost'' considered the chemistry between Kaushal and his co-star Angira Dhar to be the film's highlight. It was screened at the Beijing International Film Festival later in 2019. Kaushal next featured in Meghna Gulzar's spy thriller ''Raazi'' (2018), based on Harinder Sikka's novel ''Calling Sehmat''. Set during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, the film tells the real-life story of a young Indian spy (played by Alia Bhatt) who marries a Pakistani army officer (Kaushal). He was drawn to the humanity he found in the story and worked towards conveying both vulnerability and authoritative strength in his character. Meena Iyer of ''Daily News and Analysis'' commended Kaushal for being "the correct foil" to Bhatt's character.Kaushal's biggest commercial success of 2018 came with Rajkumar Hirani's ''Sanju'', a biopic of the troubled actor Sanjay Dutt, who was portrayed by Ranbir Kapoor in the film. Kaushal played his best friend Kamli, a fictionalised amalgamation of various real-life friends of Dutt. In preparation, he spent time with Paresh Ghelani, who served as the primary inspiration for the role. Samrudhi Ghosh of ''India Today'' wrote that he "holds his own against Ranbir's superlative performance, and shines in the funny as well as emotional scenes". Both ''Raazi'' and ''Sanju'' proved to be among the highest-grossing Hindi films of 2018, and with earnings of over , the latter ranks among Indian cinema's biggest grossers. For ''Sanju'', Kaushal won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor (tied with Gajraj Rao for ''Badhaai Ho''). In his final release of the year, Kaushal reunited with Kashyap for ''Manmarziyaan'', a love triangle set in Punjab, co-starring Taapsee Pannu and Abhishek Bachchan. Kaushal played the role of Vicky Sandhu, a local DJ whose commitment issues lead to conflict in his romantic relationship with Pannu's character. The film premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival and met with positive critical reception. Anupama Chopra took note of how well he used silences to convey his character's pain and desire. Shilpa Jamkhandikar of ''Reuters'' found him to be "at once petulant, childlike and suddenly cheerful, bringing a vulnerability to Vicky that saves him from being the villain of the piece."In 2019, Kaushal starred as a military officer in ''Uri: The Surgical Strike'', an action film based on the 2016 Uri attack, directed by Aditya Dhar and filmed in Serbia. To prepare, he gained muscle weight, practised a ketogenic diet, and underwent five months of military training and mixed martial arts sessions. He injured his arm while filming an action sequence in it. Uday Bhatia of ''Mint'' found Kaushal to be a "fetching stoic lead" but bemoaned the lack of depth in his character. Rajeev Masand took note of the film's jingoism but opined that Kaushal "brings both the bulked-up physicality and the sort of steely determination that the part requires". ''Uri'' earned in India, and over worldwide, making it the tenth highest-grossing Indian film domestically. Kaushal was awarded with the National Film Award for Best Actor (shared with Ayushmann Khurrana for ''Andhadhun'') and received his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.A year later, Kaushal starred in the horror film ''Bhoot – Part One: The Haunted Ship'' (2020), as a grief-stricken shipping officer. He suffered an accident during the filming of an action sequence and fractured his cheekbone. Saibal Chatterjee of ''NDTV'' found Kaushal to be "earnest" in a film he dismissed as a "horrific misfire".

Sardar Udham and beyond (2021–present)

The film received critical acclaim, particularly for Kaushal's performance, with Chatterjee calling it his best performance to date. Subhash K. Jha of ''Firstpost'' shared the same opinion, adding "Kaushal's Udham Singh is a performance laced with grace, tinged with bitterness, and defined by a dormant rage". For his performance, Kaushal won the IIFA Award for Best Actor and the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor, in addition to his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.Keen to work in a light-hearted film after the "emotionally exhausting" experience of ''Sardar Udham'', Kaushal starred as a struggling dancer accused of murder in the comic thriller ''Govinda Naam Mera'' (2022). It received a streaming release on Disney+ Hotstar. Despite disliking the film, ''India Today'' Tushar Joshi was appreciative of Kaushal's against-type comic performance in a masala film. The following year, Kaushal starred opposite Sara Ali Khan in the romantic comedy ''Zara Hatke Zara Bachke'', about a small-town couple struggling for privacy.. ''Scroll.in''s Nandini Ramnath opined that Kaushal "turns on the lovey-dovey charm and has a moving scene-stealing moment all to himself, which gives ''Zara Hatke Zara Bachke'' a semblance of a purpose". It marked his first film to release theatrically since ''Bhoot – Part One'' in 2020. Against expectations, it emerged as a commercial success. Kaushal took another part of a small-town man in the family film ''The Great Indian Family'' (2023), saying that he enjoyed the process of portraying middle-class aspirations and simplicity. Kaushal took another part of a small-town man in the family film ''The Great Indian Family'' (2023), saying that he enjoyed the process of portraying middle-class aspirations and simplicity. Reviewers for ''Hindustan Times'' and The Quint took note of how much his performance enhanced a mediocre film. It had minuscule box-office collections. In his second collaboration with Meghna Gulzar, Kaushal portrayed India's first field marshal, Sam Manekshaw in the biopic ''Sam Bahadur''. Kaushal and Gulzar were keen to make the film historically accurate without taking many creative liberties. To portray Manekshaw in his less-documented younger years, Kaushal relied on meetings with Manekshaw's grandson. Critic Shubhra Gupta commended Kaushal for playing Mankeshaw "without becoming a caricature". It was a modest commercial success. Kaushal had a brief role (billed as a special appearance) in Hirani's comedy-drama ''Dunki'', starring Shah Rukh Khan and Pannu. A reviewer for Film Companion believed that his appearance had greatly benefitted the film. Kaushal received further Filmfare nominations for his performances in ''Sam Bahadur'' and ''Dunki'', winning Best Supporting Actor for the latter.The year 2024 will mark the release of Anand Tiwari's romantic comedy ''Bad Newz'', starring Kaushal and Triptii Dimri. Kaushal will also star as Chhatrapati Sambhaji in the historical biopic ''Chhaava''.

Personal life

Vicky Kaushal dated dancer Harleen Sethi but parted ways with her in early 2019. He tied the knot with British-Indian Actress Katrina Kaif on 9 December 2021 at Six Senses Resort, Fort Barwara in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan.

Personal life and off-screen work

He was first linked to actress Harleen Sethi in 2018. Their break up was reported by the media in early 2019. Kaushal married actress Katrina Kaif on 9 December 2021 in a traditional Hindu ceremony at Six Senses Resort, Fort Barwara in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan. The wedding attracted substantial media coverage in India.In addition to his acting career, Kaushal has hosted and performed at numerous televised awards shows, including the Filmfare, Zee Cine, and Screen Awards. He also performed at Femina Miss India's 2019 grand finale. He is a celebrity spokesperson of several brands and products, including Havells, Reliance Trends, and Oppo, charging annually per brand. Kaushal is also the brand ambassador for Pearson in India.Kaushal is also active in charity work and supports a number of causes associated with environmental protection and women's rights. He appeared alongside other celebrities in a music video, produced by the United Nations and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to spread awareness regarding air pollution. He also lent his support to a 2018 Radio City initiative to help with environmental and infrastructure issues in Mumbai and spent a day filling potholes. Kaushal was one of the speakers at the 2018 edition of We The Women festival by journalist Barkha Dutt and UN Women for women’s empowerment where he spoke in support of the MeToo movement in India. In 2019, he participated in the fourth edition of the Nashik Marathon for gender equality and women's safety.Kaushal extended his support to a football training program for children belonging to low-income families named "Just For Kicks" in 2017. In 2019, he visited sepoys in Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh as part of NDTV's reality program ''Jai Jawan''. For Diwali that year, he visited Tata Memorial Centre to celebrate the festival with cancer patients and distribute gifts. During the COVID-19 pandemic in India in 2020, he contributed to the PM CARES Fund and Maharashtra Chief Minister's Relief Fund and collaborated with the NGO GiveIndia on a fundraiser to provide ration kits to daily wage workers. Kaushal also donated to the Cine and TV Artistes Association (CINTAA) to help artists who were financially effected by the second wave of the pandemic in 2021.

Charity work

Kaushal is also active in charity work and supports a number of causes associated with environmental protection and women's rights. He appeared alongside other celebrities in a music video, produced by the United Nations and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to spread awareness regarding air pollution. He also lent his support to a 2018 Radio City initiative to help with environmental and infrastructure issues in Mumbai and spent a day filling potholes. Kaushal was one of the speakers at the 2018 edition of We The Women festival by journalist Barkha Dutt and UN Women for women’s empowerment where he spoke in support of the MeToo movement in India. In 2019, he participated in the fourth edition of the Nashik Marathon for gender equality and women's safety.

Kaushal extended his support to a football training program for children belonging to low-income families named "Just For Kicks" in 2017. In 2019, he visited sepoys in Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh as part of NDTV's reality program ''Jai Jawan''. For Diwali that year, he visited Tata Memorial Centre to celebrate the festival with cancer patients and distribute gifts.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in India in 2020, he contributed to the PM CARES Fund and Maharashtra Chief Minister's Relief Fund and collaborated with the NGO GiveIndia on a fundraiser to provide ration kits to daily wage workers. Kaushal also donated to the Cine and TV Artistes Association (CINTAA) to help artists who were financially effected by the second wave of the pandemic in 2021.