After graduating with an engineering degree from Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kaushal began his career by assisting Anurag Kashyap in the crime drama Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) and played minor roles in films.

[2] His father was keen on his son having a stable career away from show-business and thus, he graduated with an engineering degree in Electronics and Telecommunications from Mumbai's Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology in 2009.

[6][2] During an industrial visit to an IT company in his graduation year, he realised that he had no real interest in an office job and began aspiring to have a career in film.

[2][6] He studied acting at Kishore Namit Kapoor's academy while simultaneously participating in theatre with Manav Kaul's Aranya group and Naseeruddin Shah's Motley Productions; doing everything from backstage and announcements to stand-ins.

[6] Kaushal started his career in films by working as an assistant director to Anurag Kashyap in the two-part crime drama Gangs of Wasseypur (2012).

[9] He then played minor roles in Kashyap's productions Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana (2012) and Bombay Velvet (2015), and the short film Geek Out (2013).

[11] To play a young man from a low socio-economic class yearning for a better life, Kaushal spent time in Benaras, where the film is set, and observed the mannerisms of local men.

[14][15] Nikhil Taneja of HuffPost termed Kaushal's performance "poignant and memorable" and Anuj Kumar of The Hindu wrote that "he effortlessly conveys both the inferiority complex and the attitude of breaking through the caste cauldron".

[21] In Kashyap's psychological thriller Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016), Kaushal played a chain-smoking, drug-addicted police officer in pursuit of a serial killer portrayed by Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

[4] The troubled and unbalanced character had little in common with Kaushal's own personality, and to convince Kashyap to cast him, he lived in isolation for five days and kept repeating lines from the script.

Set during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, the film tells the real-life story of a young Indian spy (played by Alia Bhatt) who marries a Pakistani army officer (Kaushal).

[30][31] Kaushal's biggest commercial success of 2018 came with Rajkumar Hirani's Sanju, a biopic of the troubled actor Sanjay Dutt, who was portrayed by Ranbir Kapoor in the film.

[33] Both Raazi and Sanju proved to be among the highest-grossing Hindi films of 2018, and with earnings of over ₹5.79 billion (US$67 million), the latter ranks among Indian cinema's biggest grossers.

[37] In his final release of the year, Kaushal reunited with Kashyap for Manmarziyaan, a love triangle set in Punjab, co-starring Taapsee Pannu and Abhishek Bachchan.

[38] Kaushal played the role of Vicky Sandhu, a local DJ whose commitment issues lead to conflict in his romantic relationship with Pannu's character.

To prepare, he gained muscle weight, practised a ketogenic diet, and underwent five months of military training and mixed martial arts sessions.

[44] Rajeev Masand took note of the film's jingoism but opined that Kaushal "brings both the bulked-up physicality and the sort of steely determination that the part requires".

[52] Kaushal's sole release in 2021 was Shoojit Sircar's Sardar Udham which premiered digitally on Amazon Prime Video after multiple delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The film is based on the life of Udham Singh, a freedom fighter who assassinated Michael O'Dwyer as revenge for his role in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919.

[54] Subhash K. Jha of Firstpost shared the same opinion, adding "Kaushal's Udham Singh is a performance laced with grace, tinged with bitterness, and defined by a dormant rage".

[56][57] Keen to work in a light-hearted film after the "emotionally exhausting" experience of Sardar Udham, Kaushal starred as a struggling dancer accused of murder in the comic thriller Govinda Naam Mera (2022).

[82] Hindustan Times' Rishabh Suri was appreciative of Kaushal's commitment to the role and his body language, but was displeased with the "excessive superherofication of the Maratha ruler".

[83] Kaushal will next co-star with Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's romantic drama Love & War, which is scheduled for release in 2026.

[88] Kaushal married actress Katrina Kaif on 9 December 2021 in a traditional Hindu ceremony at Six Senses Resort, Fort Barwara in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan.

He appeared alongside other celebrities in a music video, produced by the United Nations and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to spread awareness regarding air pollution.

[95] He also lent his support to a 2018 Radio City initiative to help with environmental and infrastructure issues in Mumbai and spent a day filling potholes.

[106][107][108] According to Firstpost, while Kaushal did not have the conventional looks by Hindi cinema standards, his "merit as a performer shone through right from his first film" and put him in a group of young actors who brought change in the concept of a typical hero.

[107] While discussing his career in a 2021 article, Asjad Nazir of Eastern Eye wrote that Kaushal's "chameleon-like ability to morph himself into any character has already resulted in an impressive body of work and turned him into the go-to guy for demanding roles that add weight to a major movie.