Ayushmann Khurrana (whose birthday it is today) is quite a popular and accomplished actor at the moment, so much so that we recently put him on the cover of our magazine. He is spontaneous, he is funny and most importantly, he is natural. His performance in Bareilly Ki Barfi was spot on, and he rubbed shoulders with an insanely talented actor like Rajkumar Rao with panache.
Even Shubh Mangal Savdhan saw him deliver an ace performance, and he has carved a niche for himself. But before he became extremely popular with a dream debut like Vicky Donor, he was plying his trade as an MTV VJ. He would have this catchphrase called ‘Ayushmann Bhavah!’ Other than VJing, he even acted in a spoof video (made under the banner of Fully Faltoo films) called Jadoo Ekbar.
In this film, he played Hrithik Roshan’s Akbar, and even though the film is a tad irritating (more than funny), it’s a must-watch for all his fans considering the novelty value.
If you wanted a taste of what the video holds in store, know that they spoof the words Mughal Raja by calling it Google Raja.
That said, Ayushmann is doing really well as an actor now, and doesn’t need to resort to such cheap slapstick comedy.
“See, I feel that your roles will be an extension of your personality. I might not be as extroverted as Vicky from Vicky Donor, but neither am I as simple as Prem [Dum Lagaa Ke Haisha]. But there are parts of me in both of them. And yes, they are very middle-class characters and at the same time, people are also accepting cinema that is more rooted and real, and that is also the kind of cinema I enjoy personally,” Ayushmann said in an interview with us.
Talking about his taste in cinema, he said, “I don’t watch a lot of cinema. I have a background in theatre. I have done a lot of theatre in college and I formed two theatre groups in Chandigarh, and they are still doing pretty well. Apart from that, I love watching international films more than Bollywood or Hollywood. I enjoy Majid Majidi a lot, and Turkish cinema — also Indian regional cinema. I really like Majidi’s slowpaced, languid style of storytelling. I also loved Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox. I am lucky that I started with Shoojit Sircar. He is one of the few directors in the industry who is following his heart and is also getting commercial success. His stories are content-based and I think he is brilliant.”
More power to you, Ayushmann!
