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EXCLUSIVE: Ayushmann Khurrana on Badhaai Ho, AndhaDhun, doing KJo & SLB films, New Years plan with Tahira
Ayushmann Khurrana, the man of the hour, in an EXCLUSIVE chat with PINKVILLA opens up about his movies, the box office numbers, on doing a Karan Johar or Sanjay Leela Bhansali movies, his shayaris and also gave us a quick update on his wife Tahira's health. Read on.
Coming straight from the airport, donning casual wear, Ayushmann Khurrana sure knows how to be a warm interviewee. Waiting for him to settle down, I couldn't help but attribute the year 2018 as 'his' year. With Badhaai Ho and AndhaDhun running simultaneously in theatres and breaking box office records, Ayushmann established himself as the King of Quirks and also one of the most bankable stars. Tell him that and he smiles, the genuine one, before laughing out loud when I tell him his 'shayaris' on Twitter have become a 'thing' now.
Ask him how does it feel, sitting there, right at that moment, when he looks back at his choices, his films and the year 2018 has been. Does this help in validation of his choice as an artist? Ayushmann says, "It has been happening for the past two years that both my movies (Shubh Mangal Savdhaan and Bareilly Ki Barfi in 2017) released simultaneously and both did well. I think, yes, you are right, it validated my choices, to begin with, my sensibilities, irrespective of the initial hiccups I faced post Vicky Donor. I always believed in those scripts and I am glad these are working. This is the new trend we faced, in 2017, especially in 2018 where we have overused the word 'content is the king'. But it is nice to back such scripts, to be a part and helm such scripts which are very unique and are clutter breaking."
But does the number game ever bothers him? He promptly adds, "I am not a number person. It’s a very organic connect that I have with the script. I consume the script, read or take a narration as an audience and if it resonates with me, I think it will resonate with people. I become the audience then and I take out the garb of a star while deciding on a particular script. Having said that, I did have particular numbers in mind when I signed AndhaDhun and Badhaai Ho and believe me, it just surpassed my expectations (laughs)."
Nudge him to reveal what were his expectations, Ayushmann prompts, "AndhaDhun, I was thinking around 40-50 and Badhaai Ho, I was thinking around 100. At the BO, AndhaDhun scored around Rs 75 crores, and Badhaai Ho around 135 crores so yes, it surpassed my expectations."
Ask him if he is tired of explaining the AndhaDhun's end to fans or people especially with the movie now available on Netflix, Ayushmann sighs, "I am just tired of explaining to people what has happened. I am flooded with DMs and mentions and I don't know what to do. Netflix has a wide audience and since the movie released there, people are also rewatching it. So, I am done with explanations," and jokingly adds, "Next, I will just text Sriram Raghavan’s number to those people and ask him to explain them (laughs)."
Within light giggles, I ask him the theory he thinks is the closest. He shares, "That's the closest theory that I took the doctor's advice and took Tabu's eyes and cooked up a story to Radhika in the end. That is what it is in my head."
Tell him that we have seen him through the prism of a Shoojit Sircar, Sriram Raghavan and others, how about a Karan Johar or Sanjay Leela Bhansali movie? To this, he again smiles saying, "I would love to do something like that. I see myself in that avatar but they should also see me," Ayushmann continues, "I have grown up watching Karan Johar’s films and Bhansali sir’s films and enjoyed it. Given the trend that we are following now, I am sure even they are trying to find different ways of styling their films or composing their films or scripts, so I think whenever they have a role for me, or vice versa, things will happen. I am someone who approaches the director, I have no qualms about it, I can do that if I get to know about a script which is very unique."
With this colossal success comes a huge pile of scripts. How does he say 'no' if he can't do a film? Ayushmann reveals, "I have learnt the art of saying NO now. I used to dilly-dally it a lot initially, ignore phone calls but I have learnt to say no. It is more important to be objective and I think people appreciate you for the clarity. I have also attained clarity in the last 6 years, earlier I was very unsure, indecisive but I am very clear in my head now."
What about the female attention he has been receiving, bonus the shayaris, does it get difficult for him? A bewildered Ayushmann says, "really? but there is no agenda that I should write only because it gets female attention," and elaborates, "It is an extension of the success of films, I believe. I think I am more accessible as a poet, also, because I am a successful actor and same with singing. It comes from films. There are a lot of writers in our country, they don’t get eyeballs, at least I am in a position where if I tweet, I get retweets on a particular shayari, it is because my films are doing well. It is just a snowball effect."
Moving forward, he shares a recent incident which made him feel like he has achieved something. "When I was shooting in Faridabad, it happened for the first time that there was police on sets and they were not able to control the crowd. Earlier, when I used to shoot, last year also, when I shot for Badhaai Ho, AndhaDhun, there were like 10-20 people, but now there were 100s of people around my vanity, those traffic jams, I felt 'oh my god, what has happened. maybe this is what happens when you give a 100 crore film.' So I don't know...that has changed, it is a new thing for me. I am trying to digest that.'
Switching to his personal life, how is he planning to celebrate New Years given wife Tahira's medical condition? (For those who are unaware, Tahira is suffering from breast cancer), Ayushmann says, "The idea is just to be close to Bombay, we can probably go to Lonavala or somewhere close but we need to be close to Bombay so that everything is safe and if she requires any medical attention, she should be in close proximity. I don't know what low key is because the spirits are going to be very high but we will celebrate with family. I have been travelling a lot and I am meeting them after a month now, so i just want to spend time with them."
Giving us a quick update on her health status, he concludes, "She is coping up pretty well. The kind of chemo she is getting, she is very brave. I have never seen a cancer patient as brave as her (smiles)."
Here's to seeing many more of Ayushmann in 2019!
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