India, Dec. 29 -- If 2025 ended with a bang thanks to Ranveer Singh's Dhurandhar, it began with a storm too. It was Vicky Kaushal's Chhaava that gave the Hindi film industry its first win, and the actor his biggest success at the box office. In many ways, 2025 was Vicky's annus mirabilis. He lorded over the box office with Chhaava, finished work on a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film, and on the home front, became a father for the first time. Years from now, when we look back at when Vicky Kaushal broke through to become an A-lister, 2025 will be the year it began.

Vicky has tasted box office success earlier. Uri was a blockbuster, grossing over Rs.300 crore worldwide. Both Sanju and Raazi were also hits, even though he wasn't central to either...