Vicky Kaushal said that he did not have the ‘mental space’ to deal with recent reports claiming that he secretly got engaged to his rumoured girlfriend Katrina Kaif in a roka ceremony. While her team denied the news, he did not comment on it at the time.

In an interview, Vicky said that he was busy shooting when the reports of his engagement with Katrina surfaced online. He added that he puts ‘blinders on’ and chooses to concentrate on work.

“To be honest, mere paas woh mental space hi nahi tha (I didn’t have the mental space), because I was right in the middle of a shoot… Funnily enough, what happens is, these rumours start at 9 o’clock in the morning by the media and by 4.30, the media only negates the same rumours and says ‘no, it’s not true’. So, you don’t have to do anything,” he told radio host Siddharth Kannan, adding, “I had my blinders on, on my work, and I keep focusing on work.”

On being asked if he was affected at all, Vicky said, “Kai baar yeh sab rumours (Many times, these rumours) make you laugh and then you just carry on with your work.”

Also see: Vicky Kaushal greets Katrina Kaif with a hug at Sardar Udham screening, fan says ‘this is love’. Watch video

Vicky is getting praises from all quarters for his latest release, Sardar Udham, directed by Shoojit Sircar. Katrina, too, appreciated his performance and called him ‘pure talent’. On Instagram Stories, she shared a poster of the film and wrote, “@shoojitsircar what a vision, such a gripping beautiful film, pure unadulterated storytelling – @vickykaushal is just pure talent, raw, honest, heartbreaking.”

Katrina joined Vicky at the screening of Sardar Udham in Mumbai last week. A video of them sharing a hug at the event is being widely shared online by fan clubs.