2025: The year of Vicky Kaushal | Bollywood's new-gen star ruled the box office, set himself up for greater glory ahead

IF 2025 ended with a boot thanks to Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar, it began with a force too. It was Vicky Kaushal’s Chhaava that gave the Hindi shoot manufacture its number one 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.The box office kingVicky has tasted box office success earlier. Uri was a blockbuster, grossing over ₹300 crore worldwide. Both Sanju and Raazi were also hits, even though he wasn’t central to either’s success. But Chhaava was different. This was a film built around him and his performance. And the success was unprecedented, too. For a Vicky Kaushal film to beat the biggest hits of Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan at the box office is no mean feat. Chhaava crossed the ₹600 crore mark at the domestic box office, becoming the first film in Hindi to do so. Worldwide, it grossed ₹807 crore. For the better part of the year, it was the highest-grossing Indian film, before Kantara Chapter One and Dhurandhar moved ahead.Regardless, Chhaava helped Vicky cement himself as a truly bankable star, who can supplement his performance with box office receipts too, something his recent releases, like Sam Bahadur and Bad Newz, had failed to do. But Chhaava changed that narrative for him. Internet memes are hardly the litmus test for popularity, but several are already positioning Vicky alongside Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh, dubbing the trio the ‘new Khans’. That may still be far-fetched, but it is indicative of the boost in popularity and public acceptance that Vicky has seen as a star, not just as a talented actor.Trade insiders believe he has benefited significantly from the film's success. Speaking with Bollywood Hungama, Atul Mohan had said, “After being there for so many years in the industry, you need that one big film (to take you to a different level). Chhaava fits the bill as a major part of its success goes to him.”The family manVicky’s personal life has been one of the most guarded among the new-age Bollywood stars. Even though he married Katrina Kaif, one of the most prominent female stars of her generation, the two managed to keep their private life relatively private. Their wedding photos were the first time the two even admitted they were dating. This year, Vicky and Katrina welcomed their first child together.Fatherhood has come to Vicky at a glorious time in his career, and he has admitted in interviews that it has changed his outlook towards life and other things. That the milestone came in the same year as his landmark hit was just serendipitous, probably.The future superstar?Vicky’s next release is a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film also starring Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt. Love and War is one of the most anticipated Indian films of 2026. The other names on the list are all big-budget, VFX-heavy, or action-packed sagas. But Love and War is a good ol’ desi film in the Bhansali mould. And Vicky is shouldering it alongside two of the other most talented and popular lead stars of this generation. This could be the impetus he needs after Chhaava to show that the film was no fluke.Trade pundits believe he can. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh had said after Chhaava's glorious run, “With Chhaava, he has taken a flight to superstardom. In our industry, you may be a fantastic actor or a terrible actor, but if you deliver numbers, that’s all that matters.” If he can and then builds on that momentum, the term superstar may come to him, even if belatedly. But regardless, he has done enough to ensure 2025 remains his Indian summer.