E-Paper
HT Brunch Cover Story: À La Ayushmann!
As Ayushmann Khurrana, 37, completes 10 years in Bollywood, we look at the space he has occupied that’s wholly his own
“I don’t have any friends in the industry,” Ayushmann Khurrana says candidly. The 37-year-old actor with the unusual career path is no stranger to HT Brunch (he’s appeared on the cover three times) and doesn’t seem to be anything like the outgoing characters he plays on-screen. In fact, it feels very much like he is uncomfortable with the idea of sharing too much, or perhaps, revealing too much.
Life has been an interesting journey for him—one that has been documented in countless interviews over the past decade—but he’s exactly where he always wanted to be. “I always dreamt of being a Bollywood actor,” he reveals. “I did a lot of theatre as well and started my journey as a radio presenter, before moving into television. But they were all stepping stones towards the big Bollywood dream.”
Social security
Ayushmann has made some very conscious choices since first entering Bollywood. First, he doesn’t mingle with other actors, have high-profile friendships, or regularly appear in ‘candid’ paparazzi shots. Second, and perhaps more importantly, he makes sure to send a message with every single film he makes.
Each role that Ayushmann chooses carries with it a certain implication. By choosing ‘risky’ subjects like sperm donation in his first movie (Vicky Donor, 2011), tackling erectile dysfunction (Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, 2017), premature balding (Bala, 2019) or the more hard-hitting topic of casteism (Article 15, 2019), the actor successfully managed to carve out a sub-genre for himself within Bollywood, one that he has been ruling without any real competition.
“Every artist should have some empathy,” he declares, crediting his background in street theatre for igniting his passion for picking message-driven films camouflaged with a heavy dose of entertainment. “I firmly believe that my films are just an extension of my theatre personality. As an artist, you should have a certain social responsibility, and I’d like to take that forward,” he says. “Frankly speaking, films are meant to entertain you. And the social message cannot really overpower the entertainment quotient. The message should be the underlying change or statement. I try to achieve that in every film.”
His die-hard fans pack theatres to see every movie he makes, which means there’s now a certain expectation the audience has of Ayushmann. And with expectations come pressure, something he acknowledges.
“It’s a happy pressure,” he muses. “People expect something of me, so I try my best to give the best content possible.” But how does he deal with that amount of pressure?
Pat comes the reply, “By being amongst people who are not yes men. People who’ve been my friends since childhood, who keep me grounded, give me a reality check, give constructive feedback.”
He pauses, then reiterates: “I only have friends from other walks of life, which helps me see life in a different way altogether; I’m not living in the bubble of a star. I have a very normal life.”
Minimalist mindset
Ayushmann is definitely more ‘normal’ or relatable than most stars. “I’m a minimalist, even as a person. That’s why my films resonate with my personality,” he says, explaining,” I still wear those four denims and six favourite T-shirts, you know? I repeat my clothes. I love shoes, but I don’t have a big collection. My passions are different. I have more books, or travel more, or go for long drives with my friends, or jam with them, or invest more in musical instruments... so it’s just a more simplistic way of living.”
Surely a small-town boy who becomes a successful Bollywood star has some vices, some guilty pleasures that he indulges in every now and again? He takes a beat before answering, “I love every kind of desi sweet; Bengali, Punjabi... I love to eat sweets, ya,” revealing yet again that truly rare star quality: relatability.
He echoes that when he admits—and appreciates—that his journey to the top isn’t something you see every day. “Coming from a small city and making it big, it’s a miracle. For a person like me, who’s unconventional, who’s made unconventional choices, at this stage, I think it’s an absolute miracle,” he says.
About time
While he may choose to be humble, Ayushmann’s achievements speak for themselves. After Vicky Donor, he won two Filmfare awards in one night—for best debut actor and best playback singer. “I don’t think that’s happened before,” Ayushmann accepts, calling it his “first pivotal moment”. Since then, there have been many pivotal moments for the actor, but that doesn’t mean it was all smooth sailing.
“That [Vicky Donor] was followed by three unsuccessful films,” he says, “but then Dum Laga Ke Haisha happened and that really paved another chapter of my life, with a series of social comedies with Shubh Mangal Saavdhan and Badhaai Ho and Dream Girl and Bala. But, frankly speaking, after DLKH, I would call Andhadhun a pivotal moment. It fetched me the National Award and it was again a genre-breaker for me. After that, it was the film Article 15, which, in my personal opinion, deserved a National Award, because it was something that had never been shown in commercial, mainstream Hindi cinema.”
Outside of films, he says the most pivotal moment, “was probably being in Time magazine.” In 2020, the actor was named among the 100 most influential people in the world, the only Indian actor to make it to the list. One can’t help but wonder what he’s doing with that influence.
“If you’re making films that promote certain messages and aspire to social change, but at the ground level if you aren’t doing anything, it becomes redundant,” Ayushmann says. “I’m a UNICEF celebrity advocate and I’ve quite active on that platform. Being part of UNICEF, I get enlightened about a lot of things, and I use my influence to make certain changes in society.” In fact, in 2020, Ayushmann was appointed as UNICEF India’s Celebrity Advocate for their global campaign EVAC (Ending Violence Against Children).
The actor, who has two children with his wife Tahira Kashyap (also an HT Brunch cover star) extends his simple way of living to how they raise their sons.
“We don’t let our children watch my movies,” he reveals, “because we don’t want them to grow up overwhelmed thinking, ‘my father is a star.’ We want to give them a normal childhood without making them realise that they have a certain privilege.”
Plan Z
It’s no secret that Bollywood is an unforgiving industry, with an unforgiving audience. For an actor who has to prove himself repeatedly, Ayushmann has no Plan B. What he does have are well thought-out Plans B, C and Z; having faced failure before, he’s now someone who likes to be prepared. “When my films weren’t working, I formed a band,” he says. “I started singing at college fests, at weddings, at family functions... so I have a lot of plans. There’s no dearth of plans in my life because I’ve been on that journey.”
He readily agrees with the suggestion that he is a very, very practical person, and has a no-bullshit way of looking at life, without any of the concessions one normally associates with being in a creative field. “I think as an artist you should be financially secure,” he states. “Because, if there’s no financial security, for an artist I think it’s difficult to be creative. I’m not from that school of thought that says only if you’ve suffered darkness can you create something. I think that’s a very, very screwed-up way of looking at life.”
After being in the industry for 10 years now, what comes next? Does he still feel challenged? “Now the challenge is how to do things differently, maybe discover more genres for myself,” says Ayushmann, whose two upcoming releases Anek, a socio-political thriller set in Northeast India, and Action Hero, are both genres he hasn’t explored before.
He’s yet to play an anti-hero in any of his films though, something he’s definitely open to. True to form though, he adds the caveat, ”It’s just that the messaging should be correct. I’m okay being negative, but the messaging of the film should be right. I’ll never do a role that makes a hero out of a villain.”
What comes next?
Apni manzil pe pahunchna bhi, khade rahna bhi, kitna mushkil hai, bade ho ke bade rahne bhi (How difficult it is to reach your destination, to even stand there, to achieve something and remain an achiever),” quotes Ayushmann when asked about what the next decade has in store for him.”I’m too practical to plan for the next 10 years or five years,” he says. “I plan one day at a time. But I will say that in 10 years, I’ll be more than just an actor. I’ll probably produce in the future, maybe write a script or direct—something related to this field.”
He does, however, know which directors he’d like to work with next, for the time being. “I would love to work with Raju Hirani! And Rohit Shetty and Zoya Akhtar,” he exclaims, leaving one in little doubt that he’ll make it happen.
Follow @modwel on Instagram and @UrveeM on Twitter
From HT Brunch, April 30, 2022
Follow us on twitter.com/HTBrunch
Connect with us on facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch
