Ayushmann Khurrana on being wife Tahira Kashyap’s rock of Gibraltar, why he’s so busy and what makes him take creative risks
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 3, 2019)

Ayushmann Khurrana who has just kicked off Bala in Kanpur with Bhumi Pednekar and Yami Gautam, admits that he’s been hopping from one film to the next with little time for himself this year, but is quick to add that he has no complaints. The Chandigarh boy who started off as a reality show contestant, has taken a few risks along the way but has been rewarded with innovative offers. Excerpts:

Article 15 has you playing a cop for the first time. What was that experience like?
Well, for one, I got to meet some real cops. I have a friend who is a senior IPS officer in Delhi whom I’ve known for five years, and observed him at work. Since we shot on the outskirts of Lucknow, I met a lot of cops there as well. I’d sit at the police station all day and watch the action. There are no 48-frame, low angle shots in this film. It’s all very real.

When you’re doing a grim, true-to-life film like this one, how hard is it to disassociate yourself after pack-up?
I’m a switch-on, switch-off actor so it’s easy for me to go back to being myself else I’d have lost my sanity. My director Anubhav Sinha is an evolved soul. He recommended a lot of books to read before the shoot because this kind of discrimination is unique to our country. What Mulk was for Hindu-Muslims, Article 15 is for casteism. And boy, was it a difficult shoot! We’d shoot around 5-6 am and in the evening, between 4.30-6.30 pm to catch the magical light. We filmed in muck, infested with leeches and water snakes, for three days. I thank God that I’m sitting here chatting with you.

People still tend to associate you with romcoms though Andhadhun did change the perception…
After the successes (Bareilly Ki Barfi, Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, Andhadhun and Badhaai Ho) I had the courage to take up a hard-hitting film like Article 15. I wasn’t thinking of commercial viability when I accepted it, but it is a commercial film with a sense of social responsibility.

A surprise announcement was Gulabo Sitabo your first film with Amitabh Bachchan and a reunion with his first director, Shoojit Sircar.
It’s great to be collaborating with them on a family comedy which is Vicky Donor meets Piku.

And then there’s Dream Girl…
Ah, that’s a unique film where I dress up like a girl and play with my voice but it’s not a gay story, that’s Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan being made with the hope that we will do justice to the subject. In rural India, we have men playing Sita or Draupadi. I myself was in an all-boys school and saw guys play the part of girls. That’s the premise of Dream Girl.

Buzz is, you are doing a cameo in wife Tahira’s directorial debut...
It’s a woman-oriented film, but if I get a good part I’ll definitely do it.

She fought a tough battle with cancer and lauded you for not giving up on the marriage even when she did.
(Laughs) She’s very honest and says it like it is. I don’t like giving up on my relationships, life is all about maintaining them. I value them more than material things because they stay forever.

For someone who started with Roadies, you’ve come a long way.
It’s surreal, I’d dreamt of a career like this when I came to Mumbai. Vicky Donor just happened, films after that didn’t work but I stuck to my conviction. I’m glad people are now validating my choices and I get to work with great scriptwriters and directors.

Given your hectic schedule do you find time for music… your kids?
I recently did a concert in the US, travel with my band to college festivals and sing one song in every film. That keeps my love for music satiated. As far as the kids go, this year has been difficult. But from 2020 I plan to do just two films a year so I have enough time for family, friends and myself. I’m fortunate I got great scripts this year but that doesn’t happen every time.

Any role you dream of?
I played a musician in Andhadhun, now I want to play a singer in a film and lend my own voice to maybe the Kishore Kumar biopic.