Bollywood actor Vicky Kaushal has recalled the moment he realised that engineering was not his calling, revealing how an industrial visit during his second year of college helped him understand that he wanted to pursue a different career.
Before making his mark in the film industry, Vicky was an engineering student. However, he eventually realised that the conventional career path was not something he wanted to follow.
During his appearance on Into The Wild With Bear Grylls, the actor opened up about the experience that prompted him to reconsider his professional ambitions.
Recalling the incident while interacting with Bear Grylls, Vicky said his college faculty had organised an industrial visit during his second year to give students an idea of their future workplaces and how companies functioned.
The Uri: The Surgical Strike actor said that watching people working in front of computers made him question whether he belonged in that environment.
“I went there, and till that time I was actually a rat in the race. But the day I went there, I saw people working over there in front of computers; I just couldn’t feel that, and for the first time in my life I was very sure of something: that I don’t belong here,” Vicky recalled.
He added that he had always been active on stage and knew that performing was something that genuinely made him happy.
During the conversation, Grylls also asked whether Vicky’s father, veteran action director Sham Kaushal, had wanted his son to become an actor.
Responding to the question, Vicky explained that his father had been happy when he chose engineering because it represented a stable career with a regular salary, fixed working hours and weekends off — something no one in the family had experienced before him.
“Actually, I have been an engineering student, and my father was very happy that his son had become an engineer, because nobody in my family before me had ever done a 9-to-5 job where they got a monthly paycheck and weekends off so they could enjoy family time,” the actor said.
Vicky eventually followed his passion for acting and made his film debut with Masaan in 2015. He subsequently earned recognition for his performances in films such as Raazi, Sanju, Manmarziyaan and Uri: The Surgical Strike.
The actor further strengthened his position in Bollywood with his performance in Chhaava, which co-starred Rashmika Mandanna and received considerable attention from audiences.
His recollection offers a glimpse into the decision that led him away from engineering and towards a career in films, where he has since established himself as one of Hindi cinema’s prominent actors.
FOLLOW NOW
