Producer Dinesh Vijan attended WAVES 2025 on Friday, May 2, as a panellist and spoke about the importance of telling stories rooted in Indian culture.
Alongside this, he also shared an update that Vicky Kaushal’s upcoming film Mahavatar will be Maddock Films’ biggest production venture yet.
The film, which was announced last year, features Vicky as Chiranjeevi Parashurama.
When one looks at Vicky’s filmography, it becomes clear that it’s a classic case of the character overshadowing the actor.
Whatever fame Vicky has achieved is largely due to the powerful characters he chooses to play, like Sam Manekshaw in Sam Bahadur or Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj in Chhaava.
These historical figures already come with a built-in public perception, and Vicky doesn’t need to do much to make audiences celebrate his performance.
Vicky Kaushal is not a box office puller. Most of his success comes from portraying real-life legends (Sam Bahadur), tapping into nationalist narratives (Uri), or playing epic historical characters (Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj).
With Mahavatar, the same pattern seems to continue. If the film becomes a hit, it will likely be due to the mythological weight of the character, not Vicky’s personal stardom.
He simply doesn’t have the mass appeal of stars like Allu Arjun, Prabhas, or even Ranbir Kapoor.
His fame is largely dependent on the types of characters he plays.
If Mahavatar manages to rake in massive collections, it will likely be because of the subject, the scale, and the vision behind it, not because of Vicky’s performance alone.
If Vicky continues down this path, he risks becoming just a skilled performer, rather than a true crowd-puller.
