UAE: 'My biggest takeaway from Sam Manekshaw's life was his clarity of thought', says Bollywood star Vicky Kaushal

Photo: Shihab/Khaleej Times

Creating a biopic demands a delicate equilibrium between artistic interpretation and historical accuracy, where filmmakers and actors not only grapple with the arduous task of showcasing a significant portion of a person’s life within a limited runtime, but can also run the risk of oversimplifying crucial life events.

In , all set to release on November 30 in the UAE cinemas, actor Vicky Kaushal — known for his riveting performances in National Award-winning films such as and — is taking this mammoth task head-on alongside filmmaker Meghna Gulzar, to tell the lesser-known tale of a legendary figure in the history of the Indian military. Sam Manekshaw (full name: Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw), who served as the Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, played a crucial role in India’s victory with a military acumen that garnered nation-wide applause.

On his recent visit to the office in Dubai — which he reveals was his first real outing upon landing in the city — Vicky Kaushal talks about his return to the Indian ‘army-verse’ after Uri in 2019, but this time, through the lens of Manekshaw, the need to draw boundaries when playing real-life personalities, and the toughest characteristic to imbibe from Manekshaw’s steadfast life.

Thank you. Not been up to much yet, the press conference and interviews have all been in the hotel. This is my first real outing in the city. I’m thrilled to visit office, and I must add, it’s a very impressive office space.

Sounds cliche, but I love shopping in Dubai. I’m not a shopaholic, but there’s something about Dubai Mall. It’s just very difficult to get out of there. I love the expanse of it and the overall experience. It’s very unique.

To be very honest, it wouldn’t have been possible without the guidance of Meghna Gulzar. She has done so much research for this part, it’s unbelievable. By the time I joined her, which was three months before the shoot, she had everything sorted for me on the table — pictures, videos, books — anything on Sam Manekshaw sir, was available to me.

The tricky part was that all his videos and interviews were post-retirement when he was 75+ years old. In the film, we’re covering 40 years of his service in the army, which goes from when he was 20 to when he was 60. So, I did not have any visual reference for how he was like in those years. We had to rely a lot on the images, chats with his family — his grandson, Jehan Manekshaw, his daughter, Maja Daruwala. It was a very stimulating experience for me as an actor — a big challenge, which made me nervous every day during prep and shoot.

It was his inherent flamboyance. There’s one thing about taking on the body language, the tonality with which he would speak, but the inherent flamboyance and the spirit he had was just the most challenging aspect to imbibe. That swagger, you can’t put that on. You literally have to cultivate that confidence inside you. Now, in retrospect, I have no clue how I managed to do that. Let’s see, I could be feeling a lot of things but the audience has to feel the same.

First and foremost, more than an actor, as an audience member, I do get attracted towards stories that are rooted in real-life and that educate me and entertain me about real heroes from my motherland. As an actor, that’s one way where I can add some meaning to my work where it’s not just entertainment, but there’s also some sort of education through the content. There are so many heroic stories hidden in the country, which we don’t even know of and we continue to reap the benefits of. Even two generations after Sam Manekshaw sir’s service, we’re still reaping the benefits as a nation. So, it’s important for such stories to come out for the youth of today to know that men like him have existed and this is the kind of service they’ve done for the country.

You absolutely have to set boundaries in place when you’re doing a biopic because it’s a massive responsibility, and especially if it’s a biopic of an Indian Army officer — and the most decorated one — it’s a huge responsibility. You can’t fool around with that; you can’t be frivolous. And that goes for every department, not just the actor, the director, the costumes, the production designer — everybody has to be authentic with their work. It’s only when the authenticity is respected in every department that the film in totality can look authentic.

Strangely, through jazz music. When I met his family, I got to know he was really fond of jazz music. And that just became a very meditative process for me and I started enjoying it so much. I remember every day before going on set, I would just sit there and listen to jazz music, which was very new for me and I’d tell myself that this is Sam; whosoever is going to step out of this van, is going to be Sam.

My biggest takeaway from his life is his clarity of thought. Maybe that was the thing that I needed in my life. There are many occasions when you come into those crossroads where you’re confused about which way to go. Sometimes you get into a state of limbo, where you’re not able to decide what to do next. But Sam Mankeshaw sir was this person who always believed that if you want to be a leader, you have to make decisions. Even if it turns out to be the wrong decision, you must own up to that decision and learn from it. So, I would be in situations where I would genuinely ask myself, ‘What would Sam have done?’

After this, there’s a full-blown comedy film coming up in February! It’s a film by Dharma Productions. And currently, I’m shooting for a period action film, which will come out sometime at the end of next year.

That’s one part of my job that I absolutely love. Every few months, I get to understand the perspective of a new human being and live life through that perspective. That’s one of the most beautiful things about this profession.