Mirror fixes-it: No donor’s help required
By Deepa Narayanan
From reality shows to feature films, Ayushmann Khurrana has made it in Bollywood on his own.
Piyush Nathani, a 19-year-old first year student of electrical engineering, has been hoping to meet Ayushmann Khurrana ever since he watched Vicky Donor. “Ayushmann is almost like an all-rounder with so many talents,” he tells us excitedly, as we walk into Andheri’s Woodside Inn.
Then Nathani begins quizzing Khurrana. His first question is about his win on Roadies Season 2, in 2004. “Do you think Roadies helped you shape your movie career?”
“If you remember, in Roadies there was a task to donate sperm in Allahabad. Another task was in Agra, where I had to pick up a girl and run. While the first task was the central theme in Vicky Donor, the second task was my climax in Dum Laga Ke Haisha. So, I am going to say that Roadies definitely helped me in movies,” says Khurrana with a laugh.
But wasn’t Khurrana interested in pursuing medicine, Nathani remembers reading somewhere. “Honestly, I wasn’t good enough to become a doctor. But I was good enough to be an actor,” says Khurrana with a chuckle. “I discovered early enough that I loved acting, and my parents were supportive about my decision. I was very active on stage in school. I formed two theatre groups in college. As Chandigarh was not on the national college fest radar, we participated in fests across India, and won many accolades.”
The next thing that Nathani wants to know is, of all the tags — traveller, poet, singer and actor — which one does he prefer the most?
“Just one talent is enough to see you through a lifetime. I believe I am a textured singer. And, though my first big play in school was the musical Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, for which I was chosen because I could sing, I moved to acting and street plays in college. We introduced music in our street plays to make them entertaining, but also thought-provoking and socially relevant. I hope to sing more some day,” says Khurrana.
“You seemed very comfortable with the pure Hindi dialogues in Dum Laga Ke Haisha. Was that really as easy as it seemed to us?” asks Nathani.
“I inherited my love for Hindi from my mum, who speaks only in pure Hindi, despite having lived in Chandigarh all her life. And yes, I loved the pure Hindi dialogues in the film — I think it gave the movie an exotic feel. ‘Ye grahast jeevan ka gurutwakarshan daldal me khenechke rahega mujhe, shakha babu,’” says Khurrana, rattling out one of his favourite dialogues from the film to an amused Nathani, who’s ready to shoot off his next, “Who is the most significant person in your life?” “My father — we share a Krishna-Arjun relationship. I am very laidback. He’s the one who drives me to reach my potential. For instance, after college and a course in journalism, I wanted to take a sabbatical to add to my skills — learn acting, singing, some horse riding. Strangely, my bags were already packed and tickets booked and I was thrown out of home. People usually run away to join the industry, but my dad made me run away,” says Khurrana, laughing.
“Coming from a non-filmy background, how hard do you think it is for ‘outsiders’ to make it in the industry?” asks Nathani.
“I think we are in the best era for ‘outsiders’ to break into the industry — there is no nepotism now. And it is an age of content-based cinema,” says Khurrana. “Outsiders may never get that ‘big launch’, but they can still manoeuvre their way around — say, through television. The small screen is not small anymore. But you must make the right choice. When I was a part of MTV in 2008-2012, I kept getting movie offers — all second leads, or heroine’s best friend — but I chose to wait it out. People don’t forget bad films, and that becomes a baggage. So I think you must be very choosy about your first film.”
“So what’s next?” asks Nathani.
“I like doing different kinds of movies. So there’s an untitled film, and I am jamming on ideas with Shoojit Sircar,” he signs off, but not before teasing a blushing Nathani. “Hey, you can reveal your personal life to me. I won’t tell anyone.”
From reality shows to feature films, Ayushmann Khurrana has made it in Bollywood on his own.
Piyush Nathani, a 19-year-old first year student of electrical engineering, has been hoping to meet Ayushmann Khurrana ever since he watched Vicky Donor. “Ayushmann is almost like an all-rounder with so many talents,” he tells us excitedly, as we walk into Andheri’s Woodside Inn.
Ayushmann Khurrana walks in a little later, looking dapper, his effervescent smile reaching out to all in the room. After giving an excited but a nervous Nathani a warm handshake, Khurrana tries to put him at ease. He enquires about his college and his hometown Raipur.
Then Nathani begins quizzing Khurrana. His first question is about his win on Roadies Season 2, in 2004. “Do you think Roadies helped you shape your movie career?”
“If you remember, in Roadies there was a task to donate sperm in Allahabad. Another task was in Agra, where I had to pick up a girl and run. While the first task was the central theme in Vicky Donor, the second task was my climax in Dum Laga Ke Haisha. So, I am going to say that Roadies definitely helped me in movies,” says Khurrana with a laugh.
But wasn’t Khurrana interested in pursuing medicine, Nathani remembers reading somewhere. “Honestly, I wasn’t good enough to become a doctor. But I was good enough to be an actor,” says Khurrana with a chuckle. “I discovered early enough that I loved acting, and my parents were supportive about my decision. I was very active on stage in school. I formed two theatre groups in college. As Chandigarh was not on the national college fest radar, we participated in fests across India, and won many accolades.”
The next thing that Nathani wants to know is, of all the tags — traveller, poet, singer and actor — which one does he prefer the most?
“Just one talent is enough to see you through a lifetime. I believe I am a textured singer. And, though my first big play in school was the musical Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, for which I was chosen because I could sing, I moved to acting and street plays in college. We introduced music in our street plays to make them entertaining, but also thought-provoking and socially relevant. I hope to sing more some day,” says Khurrana.
“You seemed very comfortable with the pure Hindi dialogues in Dum Laga Ke Haisha. Was that really as easy as it seemed to us?” asks Nathani.
“I inherited my love for Hindi from my mum, who speaks only in pure Hindi, despite having lived in Chandigarh all her life. And yes, I loved the pure Hindi dialogues in the film — I think it gave the movie an exotic feel. ‘Ye grahast jeevan ka gurutwakarshan daldal me khenechke rahega mujhe, shakha babu,’” says Khurrana, rattling out one of his favourite dialogues from the film to an amused Nathani, who’s ready to shoot off his next, “Who is the most significant person in your life?” “My father — we share a Krishna-Arjun relationship. I am very laidback. He’s the one who drives me to reach my potential. For instance, after college and a course in journalism, I wanted to take a sabbatical to add to my skills — learn acting, singing, some horse riding. Strangely, my bags were already packed and tickets booked and I was thrown out of home. People usually run away to join the industry, but my dad made me run away,” says Khurrana, laughing.
“Coming from a non-filmy background, how hard do you think it is for ‘outsiders’ to make it in the industry?” asks Nathani.
“I think we are in the best era for ‘outsiders’ to break into the industry — there is no nepotism now. And it is an age of content-based cinema,” says Khurrana. “Outsiders may never get that ‘big launch’, but they can still manoeuvre their way around — say, through television. The small screen is not small anymore. But you must make the right choice. When I was a part of MTV in 2008-2012, I kept getting movie offers — all second leads, or heroine’s best friend — but I chose to wait it out. People don’t forget bad films, and that becomes a baggage. So I think you must be very choosy about your first film.”
“So what’s next?” asks Nathani.
“I like doing different kinds of movies. So there’s an untitled film, and I am jamming on ideas with Shoojit Sircar,” he signs off, but not before teasing a blushing Nathani. “Hey, you can reveal your personal life to me. I won’t tell anyone.”
