He has been in focus for six years, but Ayushmann Khurrana has yet to punch anybody on screen. As one points this out to the actor, who has established himself as the quintessential guy-next-door of Hindi cinema, he bursts into a winsome laughter that has fetched him a committed female fan following. Ayushmann says he is eager to undergo transformation but is in no rush. “I am taking it slow. There is a lot to explore in me. Having said that, I have created space for myself in a certain genre and I feel that you don’t have to change with every film. Like they say in cricket, one has to spend time on the wicket to reap the rewards,” says the actor, who is on a roll with two back-to-back hits.
He has just finished Sriram Raghavan’s Shoot The Piano Player and describes it as “the first step towards breaking the mould of guy-next-door.” Denying any similarities with the François Truffaut’s 1960 film of the same name, Ayushmann says, “It is the first film where I approached the director for a screen test because people have not seen me in the thriller space.”
Pressing the right keys
Playing a blind pianist, Ayushmann doesn’t want to give anything away. “Though I am musician myself, I had to learn playing piano. As a kid I have played harmonium, but piano is a different ball game altogether. I didn’t want a body double to give a hand shot for me. Playing a blind pianist is all the the more difficult because he doesn’t look at the keys. So you have to give certain number of man hours to practise the craft.”
He went to the School For The Blind in Worli, Mumbai, met a number of players to understand their body language. “Also, there is a difference between a person who is blind since birth and the one who has just got visually impaired. The former smiles a lot because this is how his life has been but somebody who has just got blinded is slightly pensive and has a certain negativity because it is difficult for him to accept that he has lost his eyesight. In the film, I am playing a man who has recently got blinded so I had to carry an expression of pain. Besides that he also has a certain quirk and mischief about him.”
Ayushmann has worked with many talented directors but Sriram is different. “It is all the more difficult to work with him because he doesn’t follow a bound script. He is such an intuitive director that he could change everything on the sets.” In a thriller, it becomes all the more challenging. “A demanding director, he gives you a milieu and a situation and you have to react to it. What helped me was that I, as always, went with a clean slate.”
Reflecting on the satisfying 2017, Ayushmann says it was a very unusual year for him. “I usually do one film a year. This time I did three and got two back-to-back successful films.” After a rousing start with Vicky Donor , Ayushmann went through the ‘ Bewakoofiyan ’ phase and has emerged wiser. “Success is a lousy teacher. It is failure that teaches you a lot.” With Bareilly Ki Barfi and Shubh Mangal Saavdhan , he has emerged to claim the space which was once occupied by Amol Palekar and Farooq Sheikh. “I like films which celebrate imperfection. I really love flawed characters because there is so much to do with them. Back in the day, they were termed parallel cinema but today they are very much mainstream.”
Analysing Chirag Dubey of Bareilly Ki Barfi , Ayushman says he was both a victim and a villain – qualities we hardly find in a lead protagonist. “His feelings were pure but his methods were not correct.” However, in Rajkummar Rao, he had a co-actor capable of walking away with scenes. “In most of my films, there has been a strong character opposite me. Vicky Donor had Annu Kapoor in an author-backed character. In Dum Laga Ke Haisha , Bhumi’s character was getting all the sympathy. In Shubh Mangal Savdhan , there was Seema Pahwa padded with one liners. Since I come from theatre background, I understand that every character has to work for a production to be successful.” But Rajkummar is no Annu Kapoor; he is of his age. “I am not insecure. Raj is a friend. In fact, it was I who suggested his name for the role because it required a versatile actor.”
Script over character
The priority, he emphasises, is to do a good script. “My character is secondary. I have done films like Hawaizaada where the entire film revolved around me. In Meri Pyari Bindu (his third release of last year), I had the most author-backed character but those two films didn’t give anything to me. A great script and a great author-backed role is the ultimate combination for sure, but, I think, the first priority has to be a great script.”
Meri Pyari Bindu came with a lot of buzz but turned out to be hollow. “Yash Raj banner, Parineeti Chopra and good music...Sometimes you find a film that works commercially but has nothing inside. It is the padding, the mounting, the music, that helps it sail through. I haven’t done such films but sometimes you think that it might be that kind of film,” Ayushmann gives away his logic.
And some films make you a better person. For Ayushmann, Shubh Mangal Saavdhan was one of them. Playing a guy with erectile dysfunction, he describes it as a progressive film. “When the girl is being married to a banana tree before marriage, Mudit comes and says it is he who should be wedded to the tree because the fault is in him. I come from an all boys school and all boys college. After doing films like Dum Laga Ke Haisha and Shubh Mangal Saavdhan , I have become more chivalrous and a better person perhaps.”
If a film affects an actor in a positive way, it can bring up some latent insecurities as well. “For me, peace of mind is very important. If any character hurts my ego – I don’t have one as such – then I won’t do it.” The Chandigarh boy has yet to come to terms with the manipulative ways of the industry. “I hardly go for film parties. I go for jamming sessions or watch plays instead. If your life is simple, you have nothing to worry about. When you know that you are playing characters day in and day out and still you start acting off screen, your life can become quite hellish. You have to be real somewhere to retain sanity. Having said that, the film industry has become a simpler place where talent is valued over everything else.”
In love with ballads
Soon, Ayushmann will be going for a concert in Los Angeles. Headlined by Arijt Singh, it will have 15-16 singers but Ayushmann is the only actor-singer. Apart from Farhan Akhtar and Diljit Dosanjh, Ayushmann says, he is the only actor who could sing live on stage. Perhaps, it is a space that he can own considering his singles such as “Paani Da Rang” have got tremendous response.
“In India, people are obsessed with cricket and cinema. Outside, Beyonce is bigger than many actors. By the way, it happens in Punjab as well. I will be very happy if singers become as big as actors,” gushes Ayushmann. “While doing street theatre, we used to compose and sing our own songs. So the two have been inter-connected for me,” he adds.
He feels acting is simpler. “Singing is much more technical as you can’t stray away from the seven surs . In acting, you can start with any sur and still reach the destination.” As an actor, he says, you could be somebody else, you can explore different spaces but as a singer your intrinsic character comes to the fore. His space is that of love ballads. “It’s me. I can’t be rapping all of a sudden. It will be like ye kya kar raha hoon main . I will not look the part – that self realisation is very important. But as an actor I can rap.” It is not that he is not eager to experiment here as well. “Recently, I spoke to Badshah to collaborate on a song where he will rap and I will stick to the ballad part,” he smiles. That unguarded grin, that makes girls swoon over him, returns. “I don’t work towards it. It’s just me. I romanticise life and I am a genuinely happy guy.” That’s why when Ayushmann lights up a Chirag, he needs to be applauded.
