Hindi
“You Better Do A Good Job Because He’s Our Best Man” Indian Army’s advice to Vicky Kaushal ahead of Sam Bahadur
Mumbai: Vicky Kaushal made his debut over eight years ago in the Neeraj Ghaywan directorial Masaan. Since then, he has established himself as one of the prominent actors in the country with notable performances across films including Raazi, Sanju, and Lust Stories, amongst others. In early stages of his career, Vicky won the National Award for Best Actor for his performance in Uri: The Surgical Strike. He will next be seen in the upcoming biographical war drama film Sam Bahadur which has been directed by Meghna Gulzar. Ahead of its release, Vicky appeared on the IMDb exclusive segment ‘Essential Guide to Vicky Kaushal’ where he spoke about his journey so far in Bollywood while sharing personal anecdotes of his upcoming film.
Find out more below:
Sharing his experience of shooting for Sam Bahadur, Kaushal mentioned, “Every time I would interact with the Indian Army, every time they would be like, ‘we are very happy you’re getting to play this role, but you better do a good job because he’s our best man and you’re playing our best man’. Most of the dialogues in the film, which sound like these filmy dialogues, are actually said by him, quote, unquote. And I’m just praying that when the film comes out, people feel the tribute that we wish to give to the man, to the legend.”
Revealing the moment he knew he wanted to be an actor, Kaushal said, “During my engineering college days, we were taken to a multinational company. They showed us the work culture post completion of college. That day I knew what I didn’t want to do in life. So, I started asking myself what’s going to make me happy. That’s where I got the answer that once I finish graduation, I am going to become an actor.”
Speaking of Masaan, the first film where he played a protagonist, Kaushal said, “I didn’t know that it was going to affect me so much. We shot in Banaras where there was magical magnetic energy, which just pulled me in. With this movie, I saw myself for the first time on the big screen at the Cannes Film Festival. One year prior to that, I was looking for opportunities, for a job, knocking doors.”
Speaking of when he assisted Anurag Kashyap on Gangs of Wasseypur, Kaushal said, “I consider it to be my film school where I got the opportunity to assist Anurag Kashyap on Gangs of Wasseypur. It was a bunch of fantastic actors coming together to do this film. And it was also a film made with very limited resources. It did not have the vanity of a big-scale Bollywood film. I still carry those learnings with me, it still helps me when I’m performing.”
Sharing his experience of working on Sanju, Kaushal said, “I got the opportunity to work with one of the best directors in the country, Rajkumar Hirani. Kamli was a beautiful character I got to play with some beautiful writing done for the film. I got to work with Ranbir. I had heard other actors say that it is a great feeling to be called by your character’s name. I got to experience that with Kamli. I got to live that moment with Sanju.”
Speaking of the turning point of his career, Kaushal shared, “Uri: The Surgical Strike has to be my biggest turning point as an actor in terms of the success of the film, in terms of how well this film was received, celebrated. It was a tribute to the Indian army. For four months, there was a proper boot camp training which I had to undergo. I was trained by the Indian army. I got to win the National Award for this film, which is probably one of the happiest days of my life because it’s a huge honour.”
Hindi
GUEST COLUMN: Why film libraries & IPs are the new engines of growth
Unlocking value through catalogue strength and IP synergy
MUMBAI:In a media landscape defined by fragmentation, platform proliferation, and ever-evolving audience behavior, the economics of filmmaking are undergoing a fundamental shift. No longer confined to box office performance, a film’s true value is now measured across an extended lifecycle that spans digital platforms, syndication networks, and global markets. As content consumption becomes increasingly non-linear and algorithm-driven, film libraries and intellectual properties (IPs) are emerging as strategic assets, capable of delivering sustained, long-term returns. For Mohan Gopinath, head – bollywood business at Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd., this transformation signals a decisive move from hit-driven models to portfolio-led value creation. In this piece, Gopinath explores how legacy content, when intelligently repurposed and distributed, can unlock recurring revenue streams, why the interplay between catalogue and original IP is critical, and how media companies can build resilient, future-ready entertainment businesses.
For all these years, we thought that a film is successful if it performs well in theatres. There are opening weekend numbers, box office milestones, and distribution footprints that gave a good picture of how the movie has done commercially and also tell us about its cultural impact. However, there are multiple platforms today, always-on content ecosystem, which has caused a shift. Today, the theatrical performance is not the culmination of a film’s journey but merely the beginning of a much longer and more dynamic lifecycle.
Film libraries today are emerging as high-value, constantly evolving assets that deliver sustained returns well beyond initial release cycles. This becomes a point of great advantage for legacy content owners with diverse catalogues, to shape long-term business outcomes.
According to FICCI-EY, the media and entertainment industry of India achieved a valuation of Rs 2.78 trillion in 2025 which is expected to reach Rs 3.3 trillion by 2028 through a compound annual growth rate of approximately 7 per cent and digital media will bring in more than Rs 1 trillion to become the biggest sector which generates about 36 per cent of overall market revenues.
This shift is the expansion of distribution endpoints. We know how satellite television was once the primary secondary window but today, it coexists with YouTube, OTT platforms, Connected TV, and FAST channels. Each of these platforms caters to distinct audience demographics and consumption behaviors, helping content owners to obtain more value from the same asset across multiple formats.
For instance, films that had great reruns, now find continuous engagement across digital platforms. On YouTube, classic Hindi cinema continues to attract significant viewership, reaching audiences across generations and geographies with remarkable consistency. At Shemaroo Entertainment, this is reflected in our film library shaped over decades as part of a long association with Indian entertainment. From classics such as Amar Akbar Anthony to much-loved entertainers like Jab We Met, Welcome, Dhamaal, Phir Hera Pheri, Dhol, Golmaal, and Bhagam Bhag, many of these titles continue finding new audiences while retaining their place in popular memory. Their enduring appeal reflects how culturally resonant stories can continue creating value over time. Similarly, FAST channels have created curated, always-on environments where catalogue content can continue to thrive through star-led and genre-based programming.
This multi-platform approach has very well transformed films into long-tail IP assets which are capable of generating recurring revenue across advertising, subscription, and syndication models.
The evolution of audience behavior is equally important. Nowadays, it’s more important to find what’s more relative than what’s recent as viewers are more influenced by mood, memories, and algorithmic suggestions than by release schedules. Even if a movie was released decades ago, it can trend alongside a newly released movie, if surfaced in the right context. Thoughtful packaging, whether through festival-based playlists, actor-driven collections, or genre clusters, allows catalogue content to remain dynamic and continuously discoverable. Shemaroo Entertainment has built extensive film libraries over decades and its focus has mostly been on recontextualizing content for the consumption of newer environments. This process doesn’t just include digitization and restoration, but also re-packaging of films as per platforms.
Syndication itself has evolved into a key growth driver. In perspective, when looking at the domestic market, curated content packages continue to find strong demand across broadcast and digital platforms. Meanwhile, in the international market, especially in markets like Middle East, North America and Southeast Asia, the appetite for Indian content is opening up new monetization avenues. Here, the ability to package and position catalogue content effectively becomes as important as the content itself.
Importantly, the need to re-package catalogue content does not diminish the role of new content. In fact, originals and fresh IP are essential to sustaining the long-term value of a film library because they act as discovery engines that bring audiences into the ecosystem, while catalogue content drives depth, retention, and repeat engagement.
This interplay between the “new” and the “known” is what defines a robust content strategy today. While new films generate spikes in consumption, catalogue titles offer familiarity and comfort. These are factors that are increasingly valuable in an era of content abundance and decision fatigue. This is also shaping our strategy, drawing value from both a deep catalogue assets and a growing focus on original IPs to strengthen long-term audience engagement and build more predictable revenue streams.
There is growing recognition that long-term value in entertainment will be shaped not only by how intelligently existing content continues to live, travel and find relevance, but also by how consistently new stories are created to renew that ecosystem. In that sense, film libraries and original IP are not parallel bets, but reinforcing engines of growth. For media companies, the opportunity lies in making these two forces work together, because that is increasingly where more resilient and predictable businesses are being shaped.
Note: The views expressed in this article are solely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect our own.
