Actor Ayushmann Khurrana believes stardom is no longer an ‘exclusive club’ like it used to be, because of the emergence of social media stars. The actor also said a film's script and authenticity are now more important to its theatrical success. Ayushmann attributed the change to the audience while speaking at FICCI Frames 2026 in Mumbai on Tuesday.
‘Stardom is no longer exclusive’
At the inaugural day of the 2026 FICCI Frames, Ayushmann participated in a session titled 'Cinema at Crossroads - The Rules of the Big Screen', where he said that the definition of stardom has changed with the emergence of influencers and YouTubers, who have created their own audience base.
"We are dwelling in multiple universes, where there are multiple worlds of entertainment and there are multiple stars of each world, be it influencers, or YouTubers, etc. There are certain stars who are big and you probably don't know about them and there are certain people who know about them," Ayushmann said.
Deep Dive
How has the rise of social media stars influenced the definition of stardom in Bollywood?
Why is the authenticity of a film's script important for its success according to Ayushmann Khurrana?
What types of films does Ayushmann Khurrana advocate for in the current cinematic landscape?
The actor also said that the increase in significance of scripts in mainstream Bollywood has helped diminish the exclusivity of stardom. "So, stardom is relative and script is the star. It is not one size fits all... It used to be exclusive club earlier but not anymore," he added.
Ayushmann also said he has always believed that the story should be bigger than the actor or the star, as he spoke about his upcoming film, Udta Teer, a spy comedy. “I'm going back to my core, which is authenticity. If we give authentic subject to people that's a good draw. I believe in my next film, Udta Teer it is like a reverse uno stuff but I'm excited about it as I'm going back to my core. It is my genre,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Ayushmann also said he has always believed that the story should be bigger than the actor or the star, as he spoke about his upcoming film, Udta Teer, a spy comedy. “I'm going back to my core, which is authenticity. If we give authentic subject to people that's a good draw. I believe in my next film, Udta Teer it is like a reverse uno stuff but I'm excited about it as I'm going back to my core. It is my genre,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}The session also had filmmaker Sriram Raghavan and Denzil Dias, VP and Managing Director, India Theatrical at Warner Bros Discovery on stage with Ayushmann.
About Udta Teer, Ayushmann's next
Udta Teer revolves around a Pakistani spy named Bilal Ahmad (Ayushmann), who enters India and suffers from memory loss after an accident, mistakenly believing he is an Indian spy. The film also stars Sara Ali Khan, along with an ensemble cast including Rahul Bose, Ram Kapoor, Suhail Nayyar, Gulshan Grover, Raghubir Yadav, Supriya Pilgaonkar, Smita Tambe, and the late Mukul Dev, among others. It is Mukul Dev's final posthumous performance.
Produced by Karan Johar, Adar Poonawalla, Apoorva Mehta, Guneet Monga Kapoor and Achin Jain, Udta Teer is set to release in cinemas on October 9.
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