Family first for Vicky Kaushal as he celebrates 32nd birthday in lockdown

Vicky Kaushal is set to ring in his 32nd birthday in quieter fashion than he might have hoped for. The actor turns 32 today even as he keeps up with the requirements of physical distancing and staying at home on account of the lockdown imposed to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The actor seemed set for a very busy 2020 earlier this year with Sardar Udham Singh, Meghna Gulzar's biopic on Sam Manekshaw, and the Karan Johar magnum opus Takht lined up for the year. However, the pandemic has turned everything topsy-turvy.

Talking about a low-key celebration at home, Kaushal said, “It’s going to be different this time because it’ll be a quiet one. It is going to be all about spending time with family. I’ll also be catching up with my friends over video calls.”

The actor said the lockdown had underlined the value of spending time with family. "From this point on, it’ll be a conscious effort to give more time to them," he said. "When the lockdown is lifted, I’ll make sure that no matter how busy I get in life, I’ll spend ample time with them, have meals with them, and talk to them rather than blaming the fast-paced life for not being there with my family."

Casting his memory back to birthday celebrations in school, Vicky Kaushal said, “I used to be very upset because my birthday would fall during the summer vacation. I couldn’t wear regular clothes to school on my birthdays and distribute chocolates to the class. But what I remember are the sweet parties at home where I would cut cakes surrounded by friends. That was the time when technology hadn’t advanced so much and nobody was aware of the concepts of video calls and selfies. Those celebrations felt so real because we wouldn’t be busy clicking photos for social media.”

The actor has quite a few films in the pipeline. While he has finished shooting for Sardar Udham Singh (2021) by Shoojit Sircar, he will be directed by Karan Johar in Takht. He will also star in Meghna Gulzar's Sam, a biopic of the legendary Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. Apart from that, he will be seen in The Immortal Ashwatthama by his Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) director Aditya Dhar.