Vicky Kaushal on Working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali in 'Love & War' and Why There's 'Adrenaline' in Exploring His Character

Working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali can be intimidating for any actor, but for Vicky Kaushal, the experience on Love & War has been defined less by pressure and more by creative exhilaration. The actor, who has teamed up with Bhansali for the first time, says the freedom to collaborate with a director who’s completely in command of his craft—and characters—was unparalleled.

"I’m getting to learn so much,” Kaushal said during the THR India Actors Roundtable about Love & War, which also stars Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt.

What stands out most for Kaushal is the freedom Bhansali creates within his vision. “I just feel like I go in so much more relaxed. I don’t feel the need to cement my thought process on the character so much,” he says. The actor is clear that preparation comes first, but he leaves space for discovery. “Of course, I know the character. But how to enter a scene, how to approach it, how to commit to it emotionally— that’s where he’s such a master,” he says.

Kaushal describes Bhansali as a director who pushes actors to explore not just one interpretation, but many. “He’s a master of exploring the possibilities of what this character, or these two characters, or these three characters, could do in a given circumstance. There’s so much joy and so much adrenaline in exploring, and he really makes you do that as an actor,” he says about the film, which is gearing up for a grand global release next year.

The result, Kaushal says, is a sense of creative fulfilment that stays with him long after the shoot day ends. That high, however, doesn’t come without discomfort. Kaushal admitted that the process can be unsettling at first. “It’s very nerve-racking in the beginning,” he said, especially when the actor hasn’t yet committed to a single emotional choice. “Some of those possibilities are not coming naturally, but you’re reaching for them, going there.”