He may be the son to action master Sham Kaushal and younger brother to popular Bollywood actor Vicky Kaushal, but Sunny Kaushal has paved his own journey as an actor. Having once been a student at The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, he left it all behind to turn to acting, starting his career as an assistant director on the 2011-film My Friend Pinto.
Soon, went on to do a few films, debuting in the 2016-comedy Sunshine Music Tours and Travels. His first commercial success and turning point in his career, however, came through the 2018-Akshay-Kumar-starrer, Gold. Sunny has been on a romantic whirlwind as far as films are concerned.
While his 2020-film, Bhangra Paa Le was a love story, his upcoming film Shiddat: Journey Beyond Love is also a romantic drama. Incidentally, Shiddat, which is directed by Kunal Deshmukh, stars Radhika Madan, Mohit Raina and Diana Penty, is set to premiere on 01 October 2021. The actor talks to us about his journey thus far.
Q You’ve built yourself to look rough and tough but are taking on all romantic stories. Is that deliberate?
I think only the filmmaker can tell why they see me as a romantic guy. But even I love playing a romantic guy. I believe that everything in life has some romance in it — small or big. Romance is a motivation to drive any story forward.
Q We’d like to consider Gold to be the turning point in your career.
Absolutely! That film brought me immense recognition. Many people from outside the industry began noticing me. The audiences too extended their love and recognition for the character I played in the film.
Q What Shiddat is all about
Shiddat it’s not just about love. On watching the film, you’ll understand the meaning of the word shiddat — passion or commitment — to do whatever you take on in life wholeheartedly. And no, it’s not a love triangle but a true love story of two couples in the film who coincidentally bang into each other. The film is about what changes in their lives.
Q Shiddat was to be a theatrical release but is now set to premiere on an OTT
Most recent films that were released on OTTs were to be theatrical releases, just as this film. But as I see it, this film coming out on OTT is a blessing especially with the ongoing pandemic. At the end of the day, we’ve made films to showcase them to the audiences and we are lucky and grateful that we’re getting to release them.
Q How do you plan to take your Bollywood journey ahead?
I don’t plan a lot because at the end of the day, it depends on my gut feeling. But I’ve a goal to entertain many people and don’t wish to pick only certain projects. I want to do a lot of things as they come.
Q Do you find any pressure because your brother Vicky Kaushal is a star? Do you take advice from Vicky or your dad
I have absolutely no pressure about Vicky. He and I have our individual journeys. Of course, both of us go to our dad for advice because he has years of experience in the industry. But he ensures we know that it’s finally our own decision as we’ll be doing the film and we know what suits us best and what we want to do. He ensures we know that the decision of doing or not doing something is solely ours.
Q How do you think your female fans respond to you?
I am fortunate and grateful for all the love that’s coming in. As for what my female fans think, I don’t know to be honest! There were a few comments but I don’t remember them now.
Q. Harshvardhan Kapoor had reportedly said that Vicky Kaushal and Katrina Kaif are in a relationship. How true is his statement?
It depends entirely upon him about what he says. How do I comment on something he has said?
Vicky Kaushal and Katrina Kaif
