Vicky to start shooting for Manekshaw biopic in 2021

Actor Vicky Kaushal will start shooting for Meghna Gulzar's movie, based on the life of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, in 2021. For Vicky, it's an absolute honour to be getting the opportunity to portray the first Field Marshal of India.

"He is a true legend that this country has produced. It's an honour of the highest order for me to get an opportunity to play the part of Field Marshal Manekshaw. I am excited for that film," Vicky said.

"At the moment, I am focusing on 'Sardar Udham Singh'. We will start shooting for first Field Marshal's biopic in 2021. I will try to go as close to the character as possible in terms of looks," he said.

Field Marshal Manekshaw, or Sam Bahadur as he was popularly known, was born on April 3, 1914 in Amritsar.

He cheated death on a few occasions, both on the battlefield and away from it. He, however, lived on to be a nonagenarian dying in Wellington, Tamil Nadu, on June 27, 2008. The Field Marshal led the country to victory against Pakistan in 1971.

"My mother and father belongs to Punjab. They closely followed the 1971 war between India and Pakistan. At that time, Indira Gandhiji and Sam Manekshaw used to deliver speeches on radio to embolden people. When I heard his story for the film, I was really blown away," said the actor.

Vicky's last film "Uri: The Surgical Strike" did well at the box-office. He will also be seen in Shoojit Sircar's "Sardar Udham Singh".

On so many patriotic films in his kitty, the actor said, "When you choose a story to do a film, you don't see whether it's a patriotic film or some other kind of film. If a story connects with you then you want to be a part of it.

"It was my dream to work with Shoojit Sircar and I got an opportunity. I am glad that it's a film based on life of Udham Singh. It's a big honour at the same time a big responsibility to play this role. We are resuming shooting in October and I am excited for that process to start."

In "Sardar Udham Singh", Vicky will be seen as Udham Singh, who assassinated Michael O' Dwyer, former lieutenant governor of Punjab, in revenge for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar in 1919. Singh was tried and hanged in July 1940.

On romantic roles, the actor said, "I really want to do such films. Whenever I will get a good offer, I will definitely do it. Audience will see me romancing on the screen because there are romantic angles in every film, but I can't tell what will be extent of it," he said while interacting with the media at the NBT Utsav Awards 2019 on Saturday here.

On younger brother Sunny Kaushal's growth in the Hindi film industry, he said, "I am happy the way it has been shaping up for Sunny. I saw his last film, 'Gold'. He got a lot of love and appreciation. He is the lead actor in Ronnie Screwvala's next film 'Bhangra Paa Le'.

"Now, he is shooting in Allahabad for his next film 'Hurdang'. He is also doing a film with Dinesh Vijan. He has got an interesting line-up. We want to work hard and hope for love from the audience," he said.