Ayushmann Khurrana: Flop films haven't shaken me

The Bollywood actor, now in reinvention mode, talks about his maiden action feature ‘An Action Hero’

Ayushmann Khurrana, right from ‘Vicky Donor’ (2012), has carved a niche for himself as an actor. His seven successes in a row between 2017 and 2019 — ‘Bareilly Ki Barfi’, ‘Shubh Mangal Saavdhan’, ‘Andhadhun’, ‘Badhaai Ho’, Article 15, ‘Dream Girl’ and ‘Bala’ — have made him synonymous with a certain kind of “mid-budget social dramedy”, as he puts it.

However, in the second leg of his career, films like ‘Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan’, ‘Gulabo Sitabo’, ‘Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui’, ‘Anek’ and ‘Doctor G’ were underwhelming. Ayushmann now intends to reinvent himself.

He aims to do movies made for the big-screen experience. “My first two post-pandemic choices are ‘An Action Hero’ and ‘Dream Girl 2’, my first sequel,” he smiles. ‘An Action Hero’ is slated for a release on December 2.

“I plan to go off the genre of films I have done for a while,” he tells Showtime. “But I always love quirky ideas. ‘An Action Hero’ is an action film with a difference. That said, the film still has all the elements of an entertainer—romance, comedy, emotions and more.”

Ayushmann isn’t bothered about his slump in form. “My entire career has been built on risks, and if I stop taking risks, I will be finished. If you ask me if my last five films’ failure has shaken me, let me tell you I am unshakeable. I need to do unconventional movies that will have a wider connect. ‘Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan’ was on a topic that is still not widely accepted in India, and ‘Anek’ was niche and more of a docu-drama. However, I do feel that ‘Doctor G’ deserved better’, but for an A certificate film, it wasn’t all that bad,” he explains.

He terms his role in ‘An Action Hero’ as “physically the toughest one after ‘Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui’”. The actor trained for eight months, while simultaneously shooting for ‘Doctor G’. “As actors, our job is to sell emotions but our performances involve physical acts as well. I had suffered injuries during ‘Andhadhun’ and ‘Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui’. Every action film is physically risky,” he explains.

Ayushmann plays a superstar in ‘An Action Hero’. So how similar is the character to his life? He laughs and replies, “I am just a star and not a superstar! Also, my character wears his stardom on his sleeve, and is flamboyant and arrogant. I like to think that I am not!”

How does he look back at the decade? “The Universe has given me beyond my expectations, so my predominant sentiment is gratitude,” he says. “Even before movies happened, I was a theatre actor, a VJ and a RJ, a singer and composer and a television host. And I am also happy about the fact that 20 years later, I can look back with pride because I will be remembered as an actor who was the first to do a certain kind of film.”

Most of Ayushmann’s films have been with first-time or new directors and occasionally with new co-stars. “I agree,” he says. “That is probably also because a newcomer, especially a new filmmaker, loves taking risks because he has nothing to lose. When you attain a certain stature, the willingness to take risks diminishes, because you are apprehensive of mistakes, sometimes way too much.”

There is no heroine in the movie and that’s a first in his 18-film repertoire. “The story did not need any girl, and forcing one would have diluted the script, which is about two contrasting ideologies, the other being of my antagonist, Jaideep Ahlawat. Jaideep completes me in the story.”