Ayushmann Khurrana says Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh’s debuts forced him to take the ‘unconventional path’

 

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Ayushmann had recently opened up about how he had rejected six films before he could finally sign Vicky Donor as his first film, he says, he did it because he knew that if his first film doesn’t work he would never get another chance to prove his acting skills.

Opening about why he rejected six films even before he signed his debut with Shoojit Sircar, Ayushmann said, “I was very secure in my own skin. I was a television presenter at that time and there was a time when I was interviewing actors and I was learning from them their mistakes, their successes or whatever they used to do. So, I had this notion in my head that if my first film doesn’t work then I won’t get another opportunity. I had gotten six chances before but it didn’t resonate with me, the scripts, but Vicky Donor was such a breath of fresh air and Soojit Sircar was a very credible director. I always thought that this film will earn a lot of credibility but the commercial success was beyond expectations, so it was just a windfall.”

 

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The actor then opened up about how he cannot see himself in a “typical commercial potboiler” and gets a “trip in my head” by taking risks.

“My entire career is made of risks. I just cannot not take risks. I can’t really see myself in a typical commercial potboiler… I don’t know, I’ve always been an unconventional actor, so I had to always take risks. The only trip in life is to do something that is out-of-the-box and novel and probably the first attempt in Hindi cinema. Throughout my filmography it’s been the norm that it should be one of a kind film. It’s that trip in my head, I guess. I don’t know about the outcome of the film but I only think about how it should be engaging and entertaining but the number one priority is that it should be the first step towards that direction.”

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Ayushmann, by doing films like Dumm Lagake Haisha, Bareilly Ki Barfi, Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, Andhadhun, Badhaai Ho, Article 15, Dream Girl, Bala among other films created his own niche in the Hindi film industry and people started calling it the “Ayushmann Khurrana genre”. On this, the actor said, “I never thought like that, it is by default, not by design purely. I just focus on one film at a time that this film should be of a certain space and it should engage the audience and in a certain way give some intrigue. I know there were back to back seven- eight successes, all were unconventional but I never thought I’d be making a genre for myself which will be called the ‘Ayushmann Khurrana genre’, it is too much to think about.”

On being asked if he feels proud of being the face of changing cinema in Bollywod, Ayushmann said he and the whole fraternity is in a “self discover mode” after pandemic. “I think this conspiracy theory is changing every (with) film after the pandemic. Like initially people were thinking that only big ticket films will work, then they were thinking now Kantara has also happened, then people thought only franchise will work after Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and Drishyam 2. I think if you go out there to make an engaging film which appeals to a larger segment of audiences then I think you’re home. So, we’re all in that self discovery phase after pandemic. If a film is made within budget and released in a good time and space then it will have its own share,” Ayushmann concluded.

Ayushmann will next be seen in Dream Girl 2.