First look: Vicky Kaushal to play Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw in Meghna Gulzar's film

Vicky Kaushal to play Sam Manekshaw in Meghna Gulzar's film.

In the last four years in Bollywood, Vicky Kaushal has established himself as a versatile actor. If he redefined friendship goals as the affable Kamli in Rajkumar Hirani's Sanju, his high on josh avatar in Uri: The Surgical Strike made him an overnight star. Now, the 31-year-old actor has bagged a film on the life of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw.

Vicky Kaushal, who worked with Meghna Gulzar in Raazi, is reuniting with the director for a film on Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw.

Vicky Kaushal took to Instagram to share his look from the film. The actor wrote, "I feel honoured, emotional and proud of getting a chance to unfold the journey of this fearless patriot, the swashbuckling general, the first Field Marshal of India- SAM MANEKSHAW. Remembering him on his death anniversary today and embracing the new beginnings with @meghnagulzar and #RonnieScrewvala"

Meghna Gulzar, who has wrapped up the shooting of Chhapaak with Deepika Padukone, told Mumbai Mirror that it was during the shooting of Raazi that she shared the story of Sam Manekshaw with Vicky Kaushal.

"We wanted to finish the edit on the draft first before reaching out to an actor. One day, I just called up Vicky, who happened to be nearby, and invited him over for a cold coffee. We had a conversation about Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. He was about to fly to the US and said that he doesn't want to read the script and would just do the film. But I insisted that he read it and call me," she told the daily.

Meghna also revealed that her film isn't a biopic. "And he remembers them. Ours is not a biopic, because it does not chronologically just record Sam Manekshaw's life. We need to make an interesting narrative when telling a story by picking out the most crucial, iconic and relevant incidents of his life, giving a view of the soldier, the man, and the Field Marshal," added the filmmaker.

Vicky Kaushal, who has stepped into the shoes of Sam Manekshaw for the film, said, "I personally couldn't witness his achievements, but my parents would always tell me that he was a fearless patriot with an amazing leadership quality. The first time I'd heard of him was in the context of the 1971 Indo-Pak war."

Talking about his second collaboration with Meghna Gulzar, Vicky told the daily, "Working with them feels like home. I have the utmost respect and love for who they are as filmmakers and people."

The film is set to go on the floors next year. "We will start shooting in 2021, which is good for all of us because it needs that much prep time as we have the Partition, accession of Kashmir and the 1971 Indo-Pak war to cover in the narrative," said Meghna Gulzar.

SOURCE