Ayushmann Khurrana is all geared up for the festivals. This time, it is a lot more special because he has a packed festive season with two very distinct projects. Though he is busy promoting his upcoming films, Navratri, which begins today, is all about family and celebrations at home. From celebrating simple Navratri in Chandigarh to a “much more vibrant Navratri in Mumbai, Ayushmann is all ready for the festival. The 42-year-old actor, who hails from Punjab, says that the way he celebrates these nine days has changed drastically. He shares that the celebrations were simple and traditional back in Chandigarh.

“The meaning of Navratri has changed for me over the years. In Chandigarh, it was fasting with my mother. On the eighth day, she would make kuttu ke atte ki tikki with potato inside, and we’d have it with curd. That was it,” he adds.

However, after college, when he moved to Ahmedabad for a six-month course at MICA, he witnessed the festival in all its glory.

“Until I was 21 or 22, I had no idea what Garba was. I had only seen pictures. I hadn’t been outside Punjab and Chandigarh before, so my first trip out was to Gujarat, in 2006-07. So, a 22-year-old boy from Punjab went to a Garba night. It was so colourful, so vibrant, so youthful. It was such a huge festival,” he says.

His journey brought him to Mumbai in 2008, and he had “another revelation” about Navratri here. “I shifted to Mumbai in 2008-09 and found out that people wear a designated colour for every day of Navratri. In Chandigarh it was simple: you fast, and on the tenth day it’s Dussehra,” says the National Award-winning actor, adding, “My mother shifted to Mumbai after my father passed away three years ago. She is very religious and traditional, and she made friends on her own. For the first time, there were friends who weren’t Punjabis. She learnt about the colour for each day, and last year she started celebrating it. Now she’s excited for this Navratri.”

Ayushmann loves celebrating Navratri and other festivals with his wife and writer Tahira Kashyap Khurrana, kids Virajveer and Varushka, and his mother, Poonam Khurrana, brother and actor Aparshakti Khurrana and family. Talking about the celebrations now, he says, “Now we follow the tradition of a different colour each day. We’ve come a long way from basic Punjabi Navratri in Chandigarh to a very vibrant Mumbai Navratri. That’s a giant leap, a cultural exchange, bringing another culture into our home. Navratri is very new for us, and it’s beautiful. We really enjoy it.”

The Vicky Donor (2012) actor associates festivals with changing weather in Chandigarh. And Navratri, according to him, is when the weather starts getting more pleasant back home.

“In Chandigarh, the weather starts to change around this time. Mumbai’s October is the worst: humid and hot. But in Chandigarh, the mornings and evenings get a little cooler. I associate Navratri and Dussehra with that change in weather.”

Ayushmann is very religious and has been raised with all the traditional values. He recalls fasting with his mother in Chandigarh, but this year, because of work, he says he will not be able to. “I used to fast when I was in Chandigarh with my mom. Now, with the shoot schedule, I have two films lined up back to back, with promotions on for both. It has become difficult.”

So, does he go off his diet chart for festive food? He says, “If I’m home, I’ll have that tikki, which is fried... So yes, one day of treat. I have a good metabolism, so I can afford a cheat meal.”

When he is home, he loves spending time with his kids Virajveer (14) and Varushka (12). Ayushmann says he loves playing Table Tennis and football with them, but also keeps the tradition of exchanging music.

“I also discover music. I run a property on Instagram where I recommend new artists every month. Both my kids are into music, and we exchange music. That’s a tradition from my father. Until his last breath, we exchanged music. It’s been a love language in our family,” he shares.

Ayushmann has known Tahira since he was 17 years old. And festivals were a major celebration for the couple then, too.

“I’ve known her since I was 17. I used to distribute sweets to all our family friends myself. We also celebrated Christmas. I was in a convent school, and she loved Christmas too, and it’s very cold in Chandigarh in December. Festivals go hand in hand with the weather there. So, for us, it was Diwali and Christmas,” he reveals.

However, he says it was extra special after marriage. The duo got married in 2008, and the firsts at home are part of his core memory now.

“With Punjabi families it’s always about the firsts: first Lohri, first Diwali, first Holi. Diwali is the most important festival, and that’s when we all meet: my family, my wife’s family, my brother’s family. Everybody is into music, so we sing and play, and it goes on till midnight,” says the Andhadhun (2018) actor.

On the work front, Ayushmann’s Udta Teer is scheduled to release on October 23 and Sooraj Barjatiya’s Yeh Prem Mol Liya on November 27. Talking about his films, he says, “They are completely different genres. I think Udta Teer is a genre breaker for me, and Yeh Prem Mol Liya is a classic family drama, the kind we haven’t seen in so long. There is more to come next year with Mupapa on February 19.”

Yeh Prem Mol Liya with Sharvari makes him a Rajshri Productions hero. And the character Prem is very closely associated with actor Salman Khan, who played the lead in many of Barjatiya’s family drama. Ask him how does it feel to be the famous Prem, and he says, “That’s too much pressure, and I’m not taking it. Salman Bhai is the OG Prem, the real Prem. I revere him, I grew up watching his films, and he’s a mega star.”