Vicky Kaushal (born 16 May 1988) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. The son of the action director Sham Kaushal, he trained as an engineer before turning to acting. He made his name with the independent film Masaan (2015) and became a star with Raazi, Sanju and Uri: The Surgical Strike, which won him the National Film Award for Best Actor. His historical epic Chhaava (2025) was one of the biggest hits of the year. He is married to the actress Katrina Kaif.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Vicky Sham Kaushal |
| Born | 16 May 1988, Bombay (now Mumbai), India |
| Age | 38 |
| Parents | Sham Kaushal, Veena Kaushal |
| Sibling | Sunny Kaushal (actor) |
| Education | B.E., Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Mumbai |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Spouse | Katrina Kaif (m. 2021) |
| Known for | Masaan, Raazi, Uri, Sardar Udham, Sam Bahadur, Chhaava |
Early Life
Kaushal grew up in a chawl in suburban Mumbai. His father, Sham Kaushal, came to Mumbai from Punjab and worked his way up to become one of Bollywood’s best-known action directors. Vicky earned a degree in electronics and telecommunication engineering in 2009, but after an industrial visit he realised he did not want an office job. He joined an acting school and did theatre, and he worked as an assistant director to Anurag Kashyap on Gangs of Wasseypur (2012).
Career
Kaushal’s first lead role was in Neeraj Ghaywan’s Masaan (2015), in which he played a young man from a family of cremation workers in Varanasi. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and won him the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. He followed it with a dark role as a police officer in Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016).
2018 made him a mainstream name. He played a Pakistani army officer married to Alia Bhatt‘s spy in Raazi, and Kamli, the loyal friend of Sanjay Dutt (played by Ranbir Kapoor), in Sanju, which won him the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also starred in Manmarziyaan and Lust Stories. In January 2019 he led Uri: The Surgical Strike, based on the Indian Army’s 2016 strikes; its line “How’s the josh?” became a national catchphrase, and the role won him the National Film Award for Best Actor, shared with Ayushmann Khurrana.
Kaushal played the revolutionary Udham Singh in Shoojit Sircar’s Sardar Udham (2021), winning the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor, and India’s first field marshal, Sam Manekshaw, in Meghna Gulzar’s Sam Bahadur (2023). He also had roles in Zara Hatke Zara Bachke (2023), Shah Rukh Khan‘s Dunki (2023) and the comedy Bad Newz (2024). In Chhaava (2025) he played the Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj; the film became one of the highest-grossing Hindi films ever.
Personal Life
Kaushal married the actress Katrina Kaif on 9 December 2021 at a fort hotel in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan. The couple welcomed their first child, a son, in November 2025. His younger brother, Sunny Kaushal, is also an actor.
Awards and Honours
Selected Filmography
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Vicky Kaushal born?
Vicky Kaushal was born on 16 May 1988 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India and is 38 years old.
What is Vicky Kaushal known for?
Known for: Masaan, Raazi, Uri, Sardar Udham, Sam Bahadur, Chhaava.
Featured image: Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu presents Vicky Kaushal with the National Film Award for Best Actor for Uri: The Surgical Strike, New Delhi, 23 December 2019. Photo by Vice President’s Secretariat, licensed under Government Open Data License – India, via Wikimedia Commons.
