'I'm Still Struggling'

'At 25, there are no work offers coming your way, so how do you move ahead in life?'

As his elder brother Vicky Kaushal flies in top gear towards megastardom, Sunny Kaushal steadily features in movies that showcase his acting talent.

Sunny was set out to become a chartered accountant until "epiphany" struck and he chose to pursue his career on screen.

Acting seems to run in their blood, which makes sense as they are Action Director Sham Kaushal's sons.

The Kaushal brothers -- born one year apart -- have been inclined towards acting since young age. As Sunny says, they would participate in annual day functions in school and college.

As he basks in the compliments for his new film Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba, Sunny tells Mayur Sanap/Rediff.com in a two-part interview: "The journey has been, touchwood, really good. I've gotten the chance to work with some fantastic talent. I've learned a lot. People have been kind to accept me in whatever I do."

Your character in Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba is a delicious mix of innocent and wicked, and you performed it so well. What was the kick for you to play Abhimanyu?

Thank you. It was just like you said, Abhimanyu is such a delicious character. That's exactly the word that came to my mind.

It is a complex role and has so many colours that it kind of scared me a little bit. I wondered if I would be able to pull it off.

The duality of this character is what drew me to it.

I've really admired Kanika Dhillon's writing and the way she writes her characters. To be a part of Haseen Dilruba's world was a kick and also to collaborate with Jayprad sir (Desai, Director) and Anand L Rai sir (Producer).

What was your process to understand the twisted psyche of this character? How did Kanika Dhillon explain Abhimanyu to you?

I did not have many conversations with Kanika because she left it to Jayprad sir. That's the mark of a beautiful writer that they write the character and then leave it to the director to interpret it.

I sat with Jayprad sir and we cracked the character. We were on the same page for the fact that we never wanted to play Abhimanyu front-footed.

A lot of Abhimanyu's things were internalised.

Even if he is in love with Rani (Taapsee Pannu's character), we wanted to bring out the emotion through the eyes. That's why his movement was kept to a minimum. His movements are very minimal, very slow.

He's very alert about his surroundings and what is happening.

In reality, I'm a very out there kind of a guy. I am very fidgety and want to move about.

I had to cut all that to play this character and internalise whatever I'm feeling.

It was a challenge to bring thahrav (calmness) to this role.

That probably heightened the creepy factor of Abhimanyu.

While the performances were praised, the film overall was a mixed bag for critics.

To each their own. Films and art is such a thing that you are bound to have opinions. It's okay if you don't like it, or somebody loves it, or somebody hates it.

There are so many films that have done so well, which I have seen and said, oh I don't vibe with this. And that is fine.

You look at the love that people are giving you. I choose to look at constructive criticism.

Maybe we'll gain something out of feedback and do better in the next installment.

At the end of the day, this franchise is for the fans because they want to see this world again.

Haseen Dillruba was never meant to have a second part. It's because the first part got so much love that the makers decided to come out with a second part.

Is it true that you were training to be a chartered accountant?

Yes, I was very studious.

Dad has an MA in English literature and mom has done her BA. The atmosphere at home was that you have to complete your studies.

Dad once told us that his studies probably hasn't helped him in terms of his career as an action director but it gave him great communication skills and discipline.

I took my studies very seriously.

That led me to studying for CA because I had taken up commerce.

Two-and-a-half years into my internship, there was an epiphany moment in my life.

I was turning 21 and realised that I don't want to pursue a career as a CA. My heart was in the performing arts.

Vicky and I have been doing that since we were kids, participating in annual day functions in schools and colleges.

We had seen dad do these things.

There was no concept of a 9-to-5 job.

That's when it hit me that I can probably try my hand at acting.

But it was a very difficult decision at that time. I wanted to do something which was completely new to me at the age of 21.

I had to start from scratch.

But now, I'm glad I made that decision.

Do you remember your first paycheck?

My first paycheck was for an acting job. I was paid Rs 800 for a play.

It was a play called Chaar Small with Trishla Patel (the play director) and we were performing in Prithvi Theatre (the famous theatre in Juhu, north west Mumbai set up by Jennifer and Shashi Kapoor).

We did four shows in two days on Saturday-Sunday and I got paid Rs 200 per show.

I was really happy.

What were your struggles when you decided to get into films?

I look back at my struggling days with a lot of fondness.

There were days when you want to give up but you still look back and say those days were for the good as they taught you something.

I'm still struggling, because in today's times, the definition of struggle is very polarised.

People might ask how a boy, who grew up in a 2BHK, struggled in life. But that's not the only struggle you go through.

The struggle is also to get work because you put your everything into something and don't have anything to fall back on.

At the age of 25, there are still no work offers coming your way, so how do you move ahead in life?

Waking up every day, convincing yourself and still having the confidence to put a smile on your face and sat that today I will crack an audition.... and that also may not happen.

You keep doing it over and over again till you actually crack something.

Whose work do you look up to among your contemporaries?

Not because he's my brother, but I feel Vicky is very good. He always surprises me.

He also kind of scares me.

When you look at your contemporaries and ask yourself, will I be able to do it... That happened with me when I saw Vicky in Sam Bahadur and Sardar Udham.

Who else do you admire other than Vicky?

Vijay Varma is a fantastic actor.

There's Ranbir (Kapoor), Ranveer (Singh).

Adarsh Gourav is a fantastic actor to look out for.

Abhishek Banerjee.

Sharvari is a fantastic actor. I saw Vedaa and she was really good in it.

I always look forward to watching more of their stuff.

It's been six years since you debuted in the film Gold. Are you happy with the way your career is shaping up?

My debut film is actually not Gold.

My debut film is a film called Sunshine Music Tours and Travels which came out in 2016. It is a lesser known fact because the film did not do well.

After that, Gold happened.

The journey has been, touchwood, really good.

I've gotten the chance to work with some fantastic talent. I've learned a lot.

People have been kind to accept me in whatever I do.