By Surendra Bhatia
Lady Luck has a wand. She may wave it in the air over a person’s head… it might earn him a halo but when she uses it to ruffle his hair, all pains vanish and it’s like life and the world couldn’t get any better. She does it very occasionally but when she does it, the results are instantaneous.
Vicky Kaushal was almost a nobody. He had managed to sneak out of anonymity with a sterling act in Raazi and a diametrically diverse one in Sanju but he was still not a big star… more like a good actor called upon to essay difficult roles. It seemed like he was in line to become a younger, taller, better-looking Manoj Bajpayee, slotted as an actor who could be roped in when required but hardly a star. And then, Uri – The Surgical Strike happened early this year. Vicky had signed it and was probably shooting it already while he was doing Raazi, but that doesn’t really matter.
Uri – The Surgical Strike was seen as a propaganda film, with stalwarts of the Narendra Modi government putting in appearances as characters in the film, probably as a pre-election-promotion exercise. It was not expected to be a hit… propaganda films with the oblique motive of propping up election prospects of a government rarely are.
But then, Lady Luck got into action. Whether it was Modi’s guardian angel or Vicky had lured her on the way is difficult to fathom but her wand ruffled Vicky’s hair. The effect was immediate. Out of nowhere, Uri…. sped its way, unbelievably, to Rs. 200-plus crore! (Also, this year itself, Modi came back into power with an even greater majority, hence the doubt of whose angel was it anyway?)
Vicky was suddenly a star. Please understand that upcoming stars register Rs. 50-plus crore box-office scores; if they are really lucky, maybe one Rs. 100-crore blockbuster three-four years into their career. Rarely do non-starters kickstart their way to Rs. 200 crore out of nothing. But, here’s where Lady Luck’s wand ruffled Vicky’s hair and his career troubles vanished. Just like that!
Vicky is now a star. If he has delivered a Rs. 200-plus-crore film on his own, there’s no telling what he could accomplish with a top heroine as co-star and a big production budget. Bollywood could well have the third angle to the duo of Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh.
Of course, it is too early to tell but this is one of Lady Luck’s more startling accomplishments. She achieved a lot more for Bollywood in 2019 but her beneficent ruffle of Vicky Kaushal’s hair will remain the highlight of this year.
