Ayushmann Khurrana: I am not averse to doing masala cinema, but want to do something different – Times of India

Ayushmann Khurrana is a man on a mission to break down stereotypes and he won’t let box office numbers stop him. The star, who released his film
‘Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui’ last Friday, got candid with ETimes about taking risks with his films and starting a discussion among his audience. The small-town boy living the big Bollywood star dream also let us in on why he picks the films he picks, his wish to star in the sequel of Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Kabhi Haan, Kabhi Naa’ and even his desire to play a superhero…

Excerpts from the interview:

You have been praised for your transformation and your performance in this film by several of your film industry friends. Whose message had you fanboying all over again?

A couple of them in fact. One of them was Hrithik Roshan’s tweet because he is from the industry and his validation was very important and encouraging. I’ve always been a fan and I started my career with him. I was hosting a dance show and he was the judge. He has witnessed my journey. Praises coming from him really meant the world to me.

Big jhappi to you bhai ❤️I can’t even.. This really means a lot!Thank you! https://t.co/Aqm3EXE4E7

— Ayushmann Khurrana (@ayushmannk) 1639300013000

Secondly, the validation I received from
Ghazal Dhaliwal was very important because she belongs to the trans community. She is also from the industry and she loved the film. I think that validation was required.

‘Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui’ has been receiving so much love, especially from the trans community for the way you handled this film and the empathy you have shown, what was this journey like?

It was very tough! I think this is the most risky film of my life. Right from the inception to the shooting to the trailer launch. The trailer, because we didn’t really reveal much, not even about the subject. Of course, there were certain slurs in the trailer. We got certain negative feedback from the (trans) community, but we asked them, ‘watch the film first, then react’.

Being an ally of the LGBTQIA+ community, it is very heartwarming to get that kind of validation. Because this film is a conversation starter and I am glad that we were able to trigger empathy from the common viewer who was not even aware of the lives of trans people. I guess this was a great baby step towards the induction of the subject.

In the US, the LGBTQ community is very vocal about casting trans actors in trans roles. What are your views on that?

I think they are absolutely right! Moving forward, I think we should have people from the LGBTQ+ community as actors in films based on trans subjects. Having said that, we cannot compare ourselves to the West. We are way behind in terms of our thinking. Believe me, I’ve interacted with a lot of people, and I belong to a small city and people are still not aware of this world. They shun them, and there’s no acceptance for them.

With this film, the idea was to trigger empathy and promote acceptance of the trans community. I think we achieved that. That’s the reason why we didn’t showcase the subject in the trailer. When they watched the movie, they realised that it was just an illusion of a heterosexual love story. They realised it was something different and something they were not aware of. I guess it was a win-win situation for us.

Does Ayushmann Khurrana do movies for love, money or story?

I guess story and love and I guess money follows that. If you get love from people, it is just a byproduct of love and story – I’m talking about money. You should concentrate on the story and love.

As you take up such content-oriented roles, do you get offered, commercial-masala entertainers? Do you reject roles that are too flashy?

For me, Manu Munjal’s character was very flashy. The film was not very ‘masala’, but his character was. He was the typical alpha guy and a stereotypical Punjabi guy, loud and loves song and dance.

Having said that, I am not averse to doing masala cinema. I’ve grown up watching mainstream Hindi commercial cinema. I would love to do those kinds of films, but at the same time, I want to do something different in that realm also.

All of your films are so different from the next, if you could revisit one film to make a sequel or make a sequel to any other film, which would it be?

I’ll pick some other film. I love ‘Kabhi Haan, Kabhi Naa’. It was from the ’90s and I love those times. It was a slice of life and very refreshing and it was a very cute film. I think I’ll go with that.

Your films are mostly for adults, will you ever consider making a kids’ film?

I would love to! I think kinds are the real opinion leaders. They drive the families to theatres. That is why most of the masala films do well because they are kid-friendly. ‘Spider-Man’ will do great because it is a kids’ film and it also drives the families to theatres together. I guess it is good for the industry to have films made for kids because it gets people in the theatres.

So will you?

Yes! I would love to! I am just waiting for the right script.

Will we see you play a superhero anytime soon?

I would love to… ‘Spider-Man’, ‘Super Man’ or maybe ‘Ayush-Man’ (laughs).

You always manage to surprise with your roles…. what will be that Hatke twists to your doctor role in Doctor G? What kind of prep have you done for Doctor G?

I really can’t reveal much about that film, but it is very exciting. I’m playing a medical student in a set-up that is female-dominated and it will tell his journey.

There’s a meme floating around that you’ve done so many roles that break stereotypes, that it’s become a stereotype that you’ll do those roles. What do you think about this new moniker?

I think I should probably do a generic film. I don’t know how to react to that!