While Shah Rukh Khan was the main actor in ‘Dunki,’ there were many others in supporting roles and even cameos. One such cameo in the Rajkumar Hirani film was that of Vicky Kaushal. The actor in his limited screen time stole the spotlight. In a recent conversation with The Week, the actor spilled the beans on why he decided to take up such a role.
“I told Raju sir [Rajkumar Hirani] that even if he had wanted me to simply pass by unnoticed; I would happily do that as well. I just so wanted to be a part of his film because he is genuinely a director I admire, and I love his kind of storytelling as an audience and as an actor,” he recounted. Kaushal and Hirani have previously worked on ‘Sanju’ as well.
“My father, Sham Kaushal, was working on ‘Dunki,’ and because Sukhi [Vicky’s character] had that fire sequence, my father asked Hirani who was playing the part. He wanted to know ‘Mujhe kisko jalaana hai? (Whom do I light on fire?).’ So Hirani said he wanted somebody like Vicky, but did not offer it to me because he thought it was a small role. When my dad came home, I asked him how the meeting went. He recounted the [interaction with Hirani] and I said, ‘Really?’ The very next day I called Raju sir and told him if it had to be somebody like me, then why not me? I landed up in his office that very day and said yes without even listening to the script. The first time I saw the full film was during the screening. I only knew my part,” the actor went on to elaborate.
The ‘Sam Bahadur’ actor also went on to emphasize that while watching the movie, he could feel the emotion of his parents, who constantly talk about the life back in their hometown of Punjab, and how much they miss it. He further exclaimed that he was “happy” to see Punjab being portrayed this way.
‘Dunki,’ which also stars Taapsee Pannu and Boman Irani, is available to stream on Netflix.
