'Offered to pay money to do roles in movies': Vicky Kaushal on his struggling days

In 2018, with releases such as Sanju, Manmarziyaan, Love Per Square Foot, Raazi, Lust Stories, Vicky Kaushal became the newfound star of the year.

The fact that he was able to become the soul of the film Sanju, while completely defeating a bulky Ranbir Kapoor's screen presence, only proved that this is a man who has the ability to be a star even while sharing the screen space with the A-listers of the industry. 

It was in 2019, after the grand success of Uri: The Surgical Strike, Vicky Kaushal gained the rightful prominence in the Hindi film industry. Despite being the son of action director Sham Kaushal, Vicky did not get the smooth entrance in the film industry which are usually availed by star kids.

It was much later in his career when the godfather of star kids, Karan Johar decided to invite him on Koffee With Karan, sign him for films such as Raazi, Takht, Bhoot: Part One The Haunted Ship. During an interaction with News18, the actor opened up about his initial days in the industry.

'I just wanted to work and do good acting'

"I just wanted to work and do good acting. I would always get selected in the top 2 or 3 during auditions, but they would reject me after asking my budget. I would think that 'maybe, they have rejected me because of my budget.

So then, I started asking them their budget. When I said I would do in their budget, they would still reject me. Then I said I would work for free (laughs), they would still not take me. At last, I had to say that I would pay but give me work."

While talking about the success of the National-Award winning film Uri: The Surgical Strike he said, "Uri was made by a debutant filmmaker. I also didn't headline any big film before that. So, I had a huge responsibility and there was a piece of baggage for sure. But luckily, the film struck the right chord and the audience accepted it.

Its success is also proof that you must go for a script you like because you never know what that Friday might bring to you. We are in an excellent phase, where people are not just dependent on what's the packaging of a film. If the content is good, people will support your film. Look what happened with Uri. People literally snatched Uri from us and made it their own, and that was the most special feeling for all of us."