Ayushmann Khurrana doesn't care about the numbers game. All he wants to do is create a niche of his own, one where he is the Badshah
Ayushmann Khurrana
Though his last release, Akshay Roy's Meri Pyaari Bindu, failed to stir the box-office, Ayushmann Khurrana walked away with everyone's hearts. As the unrequited lover of Bindu (Parineeti Chopra), he brought to life a character who was not the quintessential Indian male. With two films lined up for release - Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari's Bareilly Ki Barfi and RS Prasanna's Shubh Mangal Savdhan - in the coming months, the actor-singer talks of creating a niche for himself in the industry, being the Amol Palekar and Farooque Shaikh of this generation, and his wife, writer Tahira Kashyap. We caught up with Ayushmann at Yash Raj Studios, Andheri. Excerpts from an interview.
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Ayushmann Khurrana With his wife Tahira Shah
Five years into the industry, have you finally found your space?
People expect novel stuff from me, which is great. Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015) was a defining film for me. I practically sleepwalked through Vicky Donor (2012). Playing a quirky Punjabi guy was just playing myself. In Dum Laga Ke Haisha, I became a different person adapting to different languages and physicalities.
Why did you choose Meri Pyaari Bindu?
It started with Balki's Ki & Ka (2016) and in Meri Pyaari Bindu, it is the potent subtext where the man is a giver and a pleaser. I knew it was an unrequited love story which might not work, but it was a risk. Mainstream movies are depicting what's changing in reality, at least in urban India. By Indian standards, the nation by and large is attempting to think more progressively. Happy endings aren't the focus. Moreover, Kolkata (where a major chunk of Meri Pyari Bindu was shot) lured me. I always thought I am a Bengali trapped in a Punjabi body. When I went to Kolkata, I was blown away. I can spend hours strolling down Park Street and live there forever. I have spent months there and I am in love with the city. The first time, however, when I was part of the reality show Roadies in 2004. When we flagged off from Shantiniketan, everyone around was focussing on the bikes and the races, but I sat under Tagore's favourite tree, soaking in the moment.
How is it that a progressive thinker like you made your wife Tahira shift base?
When I got married, I had no money. Tahira has been doing better than me professionally for the longest time. She was gutsy enough to marry a man just for love and have faith in his talent. She is a rockstar; she was a professor, had her own PR firm in Chandigarh. She was also the programming head of a radio station in Punjab. She supported me in every possible way. I was a struggling actor, which is often a gamble. But there was never any ego between us. When there's love, there's no scope for ego. Most men in India aren't secure enough to be comfortable with such an arrangement. It comes with the family. It depends on how your father treats your mother. But a man, no matter where he comes from, could always trigger a change. If it's a patriarchal family, the dynamics are different. In my case, Tahira became the daughter in a household that had none.
Bhoomi Pednekar and Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer Shubh Mangal Savdhan deals with erectile dysfunction
With the lines blurring, would you ever go back to television?
I was a VJ because I wanted to be an actor. If I were a star kid, I wouldn't need to do Roadies or be a radio presenter. Now that I am here, I would never want to go back. Star kids get that guaranteed good launch by virtue of their lineage and network. But, I don't agree with people when they say there's nepotism. We might not have had a direct entry into the industry, but those who are good will stay.
How do you take failure?
The string of flops made me work harder. It was a great learning experience. I am a realist in life. I do my work and get detached fairly easily. Success is a lousy teacher. Actors are myopic sometimes, focusing on their lines, their look and not caring much about the film. When something flops, you analyse things in totality. That's when Dum Laga Ke Haisha happened. I was playing a despicable man, but I was up for the challenge because I saw more than just what I am doing in it.
Is there a set goal in terms of what you aspire to be in the industry?
In five years, I have given two films (Vicky Donor and Dum Laga Ke Haisha), which have won National Awards. Everyone is gung-ho about being a superstar these days, but who will become the Amol Palekar and Farooque Shaikh of this age? I want to own that space. I want to be the parallel superstar. Everyone is a good actor these days. There is no room for non-actors anymore. At least in the space I am targetting, the crowd is less. Playing safe cannot work. I have to do quirky stuff. My next film, RS Prasanna's Shubh Mangal Savdhan, is about a likeable guy who is suffering erectile dysfunction. His girlfriend loves him despite that. That love story is on a different spiritual level, focussing on a problem that is as common as a headache. Men don't talk about it because they feel being a man is about how well they are able to perform in bed. As long as anything I do triggers a discussion, I am happy.
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