Bollywood actor Vicky Kaushal, who rose to prominent stardom with last year’s surprise hit, Uri The Surgical Strike, has said he would often ask filmmakers for their budget after auditioning for them and even offer to pay if they allowed him to act in their projects.

““I just wanted work and do good acting. I would always get selected in 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,” a News 18 report quoted Vicky as saying.

He also talked about Uri and 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 baggage for sure. But luckily, the film struck the right chord and the audience accepted it. Its success is also a 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.”

 

Talking about his college days, Vicky has revealed last year at India Today Conclave that he once sat for an interview for engineer’s job because he wanted the experience. “From 2004 to 2009, I was doing my engineering. In the third year, we had campus interview. By that time, I already knew that I was not made for engineering. I had been active on stage as a child. I guess that was the first time that actor thought came in my mind and I started toying with it. Amol Palekar’s Golmaal is my favourite film, and like that scene in the film, I always wanted to give an interview wearing a tie. I knew that there would be no interview process for an actor. So I wanted to do this once during my campus placement. Just for the kick, I cleared aptitude test and group discussion and reached the interview round. I was so relaxed because I had nothing to lose as I didn’t want the job.” He added that he was eventually selected for the job.

Vicky was recently seen in horror-thriller film Bhoot Part One: The Haunted Ship that received a mild response at the box office. The film is a part of the horror franchise. Produced by Karan Johar, the horror-thriller flick also features Bhumi Pednekar and Ashutosh Rana. The movie was released across India on February 21.