Happening star Ayushmann Khurrana on a hot streak breaks down his craft and shares how he took the quirky route and barged into Bollywood's coveted Rs 100-crore club
Mayank Shekhar (MID-DAY; December 20, 2018)

Firstly, why are you Ayushmann? Shouldn't it be Ayush-man, or Ayush-maan?
If your dad's an astrologer, you have no option but to be born with these spellings! I did not change the spelling, before becoming an actor.

And I believe he changed your name from Nishant, to begin with?
Yes, I was three at the time. I think I'm also the oldest Ayushmann in the world. Now, I see kids who are five or six, named Ayushmann, but none older.

While you're an accomplished lead actor now, someone clearly thought you had a face for radio, which is how you began your career, as an RJ!
(Laughs) I have evolved so much, not just as an actor, but also how I look. You only have to see my pictures [from much younger] — I used to have braces, crooked teeth, used to wear glasses, and was quite a nerd.

So it's radio, Roadies, then a sportscaster on IPL, you had done the full round before your first film.
I always wanted to be an actor but was pretty sure nobody would launch me. Television was a decent route though. I became a VJ on MTV. By default, every VJ gets a chance to be an actor. I had said no to at least five to six films before Vicky Donor (2012).

Do you remember reading any lousy scripts back then?
There was a script called KLPD: Kisses, Love, Pizza and Dhoka. It was a sex comedy. So, I went to Bangkok for a shoot that never started. There was some production locha, we came back. While I was there, I realised, something is off. I was 24. It was this weird story of four couples who fall in love with each other.

What is about filmmakers that they look at you and associate you in some odd way with [stories about] sex?
It's the innocence, the earnestness. I give the clean vibe. That's what Shoojit Sircar told me, when I asked him why he chose me for a sperm donor's role. Do I look like one? And he was like, 'You just look very sanitised.' He said you give a clean vibe, ki achcha ladka hai. Sanskari hai.

You got your first film role, with Shoojit Sircar's Vicky Donor, without a screen test. And your last role, in Sriram Raghavan's Andhadhun, is the first time you auditioned for a part. How did that happen?
I was hosting shows on MTV and Shoojit sir was like, I just want you to be as you are as a VJ: the loud Punjabi guy. So, I did not audition for the part of Vicky Donor. With the last film [Andhadhun], I got to know that he [Sriram Raghavan] had not short-listed anybody for that role. I got to know the one-liner from [casting agent] Mukesh Chhabbra. And I texted him [Raghavan]. He said this is not a slice-of-life film. I said that's why I have come to you. I always wanted to do a thriller, and was getting scripts as well. But, I wanted to work with Sriram Raghavan, because I'm a huge fan-boy.

Fan-boy because of?
Ek Hasina Thi (2004) — that transformed Saif [Ali Khan] for me. Badlapur (2015) transformed Varun [Dhawan] for me. And I wanted my transformation with him. Glad that happened.

Speaking of mentors, the idea of the Godfather has dramatically changed in showbiz. Would you consider MTV as the first, and then Yash Raj as the second?
I would call Shoojit Sircar and Aditya Chopra as my two mentors; and on TV, there was [producer] Siddhartha Basu, who gave me my first TV show, India's Got Talent. He [Basu] gave me a lot of training, to work on my diction and other aspects as an anchor. Similarly, we had lots of workshops for Vicky Donor, because I had been hosting for four-five years, and had to unlearn a lot of stuff, like looking into the camera, for instance. I had to ignore the camera, for a change, and become an actor. So I went to MK Sharma's Act One [in Delhi].

How did Aditya Chopra and you meet?
That was during Bewakoofiyaan (2014). I was not interested in that film and had issues with the script. I told him that I wanted to do this film [only] because I wanted to get into Yash Raj. I asked him why can't you [Yash Raj] manage me anyway? He said, no, you have to do a film with us; then we can manage you. Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015) was offered to me a month after Bewakoofiyaan started. I was really excited about it. And he [Chopra] was surprised, because it was not a "hero wali" film. He said people won't like you in the first half. And I was okay with that. The script was so unique. After both films released, he began respecting me. He was like, you have an eye for scripts. Sometimes, he bounces certain scripts off me, just to have me read them.

What, according to you, is a good script sense?
I think I should relate to it first. Sometimes, I feel I'm the audience. Most people think audience will like it, even if you don't. But you have to be the audience, to begin with. This thought comes from my theatre background, because we used to write our own scripts. We did street theatre, which is meant to be dark and content-based. But we started making entertaining street plays.

Like singing, dancing, instead of activism, on the streets?
We would have guitars, percussions, so it was like a fun fair. We would do it anywhere — marketplace, college, university. There was a chant, something like, 'Zor se bolo, natak dekho. Saare bolo, DAV ka natak dekho.' DAV was our college. There was a saafa [turban cloth] spread out, and everyone would give money.

You also made money from passengers on college train trips from Chandigarh.
Frankly, most of the kids were from well-off families, so doing this was fun. We'd come to IIT Powai every year in second class sleeper train, sponsored by college. We'd play guitar, dholak, sing retro songs for passengers. I remember one person gave us Rs 500, and we were like kaun hai yeh aadmi? (Laughs). One of our Goa trips after Mood Indigo got sponsored this way.

Glad you said you're from a well-off family. Assuming you haven't slept on Mumbai streets, because everyone from Amitabh Bachchan to Shah Rukh Khan has that exact same story!
Well, we did once miss our train to Goa, and we had to stay the night on Mumbai Central. So yes, station pe soye thhe! I could afford a hotel room, but not for all my friends. It's not that I have a sob story. I came to Mumbai on a plane. Since I didn't have a place, I stayed with a friend in KEM Hospital's hostel. I would go to give auditions, but while coming and going out of the hostel, I'd wear a laboratory coat so no one catches me.



Most traditional Indian parents force their kids to study medicine, engineering. Your father forced you to come to Mumbai and become an actor.
Well, I took sciences in high school, cleared a dental college exam in Karnataka and when I went there, I realised I won't be able to do it. So, I came back to Chandigarh to study arts. After journalism, I thought of taking a sabbatical for two years, because I was not satisfied with myself as an actor. My father told me to go out there [to Mumbai] and learn on the job. He said there is no wrong time to do the right thing.

Now in this nepotism argument, a point that people miss is that there could be such a thing as new fame and old fame. Being from a famous family could just make it easier to deal with fame, because you've already closely seen the ups and downs. You went to an all boys' school, college, became a superstar with your first film, suddenly when there is so much female attention, for instance; did it shake you up?
That happened to me when I was 18. I was on the second season of a reality show called Pop Stars on Channel V, which was won by a group called Asma. I was the first back-up singer for that band; the only one from Chandigarh. I had suddenly become a star in the first year of college. Mera dimaag kharab ho gaya tha! I was getting attention from girls, apart from my girlfriend. I broke up with my girlfriend then, now wife [Tahira Kashyap]. One year after that was disastrous for me, because nothing happened. Then, I realised this is all fickle. Later, Roadies happened, when I was more mature. So I got exposed to these things early in life. And it wasn't sudden fame after Vicky Donor either. It was gradual. Yes, I did have marital issues after Vicky Donor, since everyone wanted a piece of me. As an RJ and VJ, I would work for around 12 days, and the rest were free. So, I had a lot of time for Tahira and we would travel a lot then. Suddenly, everything stopped. I didn't have a single minute for her, and the worst part was she was pregnant. I was a father when the movie [Vicky Donor] released, but I had no time for the family. I was consumed with my own success. It was a professional high and a personal low.

Has that been the story of your life?
Yes. Even now, there is professional high, but personally, very tough [phase]. We are together, but she [Tahira] has gone through cancer. It's always been like that.

If you had to choose between personal and professional, which one would you go for?
(Long pause) It's tough to answer. At the same time, you need to have a solid personal life. Because everything will go. But this will stay.

Getting back to your professional life, your films have also been timed in quick succession — in 2017, Bareilly Ki Barfi and Shubh Mangal Saavdhan released two weeks apart, same with Andhadhun and Badhaai Ho this year. If both went down, you'd be screwed!
It's a coincidence. You'd never want your films to come back-to-back, but I have realised, if your films are good, they will work. Last year [with Bareilly and Shubh Mangal], I was nervous, as both the films had similar texture, and our designers were the same. My mother-in-law, played by Seema Pahwa, was the same. People were getting confused watching the two trailers. Some went to watch Shubh Mangal Saavdhan but had booked tickets for Bareilly Ki Barfi, since both were playing at the same time. This time around, I wasn't nervous, as both Badhaai Ho and Andhadhun had different milieus.

The other back-to-back releases were Hawaizaada and Dum Laga Ke Haisha in 2015. Can you explain what made you choose Hawaizaada?
Just the one-liner I heard. I was fascinated with the character, who apparently constructed India's first unmanned plane before the Wright brothers. But, I realised that it's not necessary that a film that has a good one-liner will last for two hours [the same way]. Every failure is a learning. Hawaizaada should have been more real. I was not expecting a fantasy, or a love story, taking over from the facts and other elements in the film.

Apparently, Aditya Chopra called you up after Hawaizaada's release and said that nobody's luck turns around in 20 days, but yours will. Take us through the phone call.
I was in Chandigarh that time and I needed a break. I wasn't going through my social media, had switched off my phone and was just chilling. But he reached out and said that we have a release on February 27. I was shocked. Pehle hi lagi padi thi and itni jaldi ye aa raha hai (laughs). He said that this is going to be a blessing in disguise and will change your fortune. And it did.

You, Vicky Kaushal and Rajkummar Rao show up on Karan Johar's talk show, where guests are routinely asked to rank the three of you. What's also common between you all is that you've subverted the idea of on-screen masculinity through your roles. You come from Chandigarh, which is the most macho city ever. How did you get to subversion of masculinity from there?
This happened because the scripts are more real, and the credit should go to scriptwriters. Of course, as actors, we have chosen those scripts, and are taking their idea forward. Coming from Chandigarh, I have gone through a transition myself. Back in the day, I was slightly patriarchal. I wasn't exposed to certain things. I came to Mumbai, and before that, Delhi. I believe everyone goes through a change. The idea is to make every small-town guy be a part of that change. There are two different countries in India — urban, which is 25-30 per cent; and the other that's rural. We need to get these two together. I expect that change to happen [to everyone] through cinema, or literature.

Give me an example in the way you have changed?
My mother is a housewife. When I started dating Tahira, I told her that you don't need to work, and that I'll be the breadwinner. She was shocked. She told me it wasn't about the money. She wanted to pursue her passion for herself. I told her then that we can't marry. And she told me, 'That's cool. We should definitely not marry!' She has been instrumental in changing me. I was uncouth and was brought up among rustic guys in Chandigarh, Haryana and Punjab. I went to an all boys' school. I didn't even know how to talk to a woman. She turned me into a gentleman. Whatever I am today, I owe a lot to my wife.

When you go back, do you find your friends to be just the way they were?
Most of them have changed, but some have remained similar. During Diwali, I always go back to Chandigarh. I was having debates about the #MeToo movement hearing stuff like, 'Abhi kya bolne ki zaroorat thi. Dus saal pehle kyun nahi bola?' Everybody was making the same argument. And I was like, 'Kya kar rahe ho yaar? Ab toh badal jao!'

Speaking of #MeToo movement, I'm told, you've had an incident yourself. Take us through it?
It was a gay casting-director. I have nothing against him. I was new to the city, and he said, 'Why don't you come and show me your d*** and I'd like to feel it, and you'll get a role!' If I was gay, I would have thought about it. I was single at the time! I told him that I wanted to make it with my own talent; otherwise I wouldn't be happy getting the role. We had a healthy discussion and parted ways.

We're going to end with confirming two rumours about you. One, that you've actually donated sperm; true?
Yes! I did it in Allahabad, during Roadies, in 2004. Sperm donation was a task. Guys with the highest sperm count would go in the next round. So I was in top three. So Vicky Donor was like method acting for me [laughs]. Shoojit Sircar was shocked when I told him about this incident.

And you brush four times a day?
Yes! I have an OCD. It started when I had braces, and the food would get stuck, so I used to brush a lot. And this habit has continued.

Transcribed by Mohar Basu, Sonil Dedhia and Sonia Lulla

As told to Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 15, 2018)

Every film is a learning experience and with Junglee Pictures’ upcoming slice-of-life comedy Badhaai Ho, the challenge was to make my new turn as a Delhi guy different from my previous three outings — Vicky Donor, Bewakoofiyaan and Shubh Mangal Saavdhan. For this film, I had to speak Hindi in three dialects — first, the anglicised Hindi my character Nakul uses at his work place, then, a UP accent at home as my parents, played by Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao, have migrated to the capital from Meerut and finally, a Haryanvi accent with friends. I started working on it right from the first day of our workshop and was continuously guided by our writers, Akshat Ghildial who is from Meerut and Shantanu Srivastava from Haryana, who were always on the set.

Since I’m from Chandigarh and my parents live in Panchkula, it wasn’t very difficult getting a hang of the Haryanvi accent though it did require lots of hard work. But that’s not a problem as I enjoy prep and I’m able to pick up accents easily. I had learnt the Khariboli to convincingly play Prem Prakash Tiwari who owns a video cassette shop in Haridwar for Dum Laga Ke Haisha. My co-star Mahesh Sharma, who was also my trainer, was always around me to teach me how to say my lines right.

The recently released Andhadhun was my most challenging film as an actor. Piano is not an easy instrument to learn, one needs to be ambidextrous to play it, and while I’ve been playing the guitar since I was in college, the piano was new to me. Since I refused to use a hand double, I had to work extremely hard to get the notes right. My trainer Akshay Verma who is from Los Angeles but now based in Mumbai, taught me basic hand movements, telling me repeatedly to keep my fingers curved while playing. There were some very difficult pieces and I have tried to hit the right notes with Akshay who was always on the set keeping a check on me on the monitor. The training lasted for about six months with us sometimes spending five hours a day rehearsing on the piano. Now, I can use the skill during concerts.

Playing a blind guy wasn’t easy either. During prep, I realised in our country we don’t have many facilities for the physically challenged, for instance on buses and trains they don’t have special platforms. But we do have lifts with braille so I’m sure we are going in the right direction. My focus was to learn how a blind person walks and had strolled through the streets wearing a blindfold too. It was an enlightening experience.

Earlier, I had learnt Marathi for Vibhu Puri’s Hawaizaada in which I had played Shivkar Bapuji Talpade, a Maharashtrian scientist who is credited with having constructed India’s first unmanned plane. The screenplay writer Saurabh Bhave who is a Maharashtrian and writes scripts for Marathi films was my trainer. He incorporated some Marathi words in this script too and I would speak to my staff and maid in Marathi. It’s good to speak and know the language of the city you live in. Aata mala sagrah samajhte.

I learnt Bengali for Meri Pyaari Bindu which is a little more difficult than Marathi as the lingo was never a part of my milieu. I had trained a lot with writer Suprotim Sengupta and also watched many Bangla films, listened to Bengali songs and was glued to Anurag Basu’s Chokher Bali from his TV series, Stories by Rabindranath Tagore. I discovered the Nobel Laureate while shooting for the film and fell in love with Bengali literature and culture. Sometimes I feel like a Bengali trapped in a Punjabi’s body.

As told to Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 8, 2018)

I was born and brought up in Australia where my parents, who are both IIT alumni and have PhDs in science and engineering, migrated before I entered the world. Both my parents, Dr Hema Sharda and Dr Nalin Kant Sharda, are professors in Australia. I knew I wanted to be an actress as a young girl, but perhaps because of the academic environment at home, I chose to pursue Law, Media and Communications and a Diploma in French at the University of Melbourne.

As a child, I had dreamt of being an independent working woman. When I was 15 years old, I started my first job at a bookstore in Melbourne. I would sell books, stock shelves and handle the check-out counter. My father loves books and our house in Melbourne is like a library — so the bookstore felt like a natural place to start my working life.

In my second year at the University, I worked as an RJ on a community radio channel and would do a broadcast once a week. I also sold 3G phones in a phone store in Melbourne.

In the third year, I started working part-time at a management consultancy firm. I was a part of a team which set the curriculum on how to teach new software to the employees of our clients. We were called the ‘Human Performance Team’.

While I was working at the consultancy firm, I splurged on my first ‘adult’ Christmas presents for my family. I bought my brother a signed copy of Steve Waugh’s autobiography, a beautiful stainless-steel kettle for mama and socks and ties for my father (he always drew the short straw!). I remember putting up our tree and carefully wrapping all the presents. It was rare for all of us to be under one roof on Christmas Day as my mother used to travel a lot. But that year, we were all there and I wanted it to be a real Christmas.

My friends called me, the ‘WEG’ — the ‘Work Experience Girl,’ because every time we met, I was doing something new. Some of these jobs only paid me a few dollars an hour but I enjoyed the joy of buying my own coffee, clothes and paying for my own expenses.

I wanted to understand what I really wanted to do before I actually embarked on my future, so I tried my hands at as many jobs as possible. I even worked at a law film, doing a clerkship in my final year at the University.

But while I was doing all this, I still clung on to my acting dream. The first step was to enrol in drama school part-time while I was studying.

I then started teaching Indian dance at the University. A Bharatanatyam dancer, I was passionate about Indian folk and classical dance, I wanted people in Melbourne to know that our country is more than just Bollywood and introduced dance forms from around India within the course. On Saturdays, I would also teach Bharatanatyam to young students at our dance school. Throughout this period, my father would joke that he had to take an appointment to meet his busy-busy daughter.

I was still studying at University when I first came to India in 2010 to follow my childhood dream. Mumbai and the film industry was a whole new world for me. I auditioned every day and one of my first major assignments was a cameo in Karan Johar’s My Name Is Khan with Shah Rukh (Khan) and Kajol in the lead.

The same year, I played a leading role opposite Manoj Bajpayee in Ajoy Varma’s comedy drama Dus Tola, a remake of the Malayalam film, Ponmuttayidunna Tharavu. I played a classical dance teacher and my experience came in handy. I would go back and forth to Melbourne to finish my degrees and ultimately graduated with honours.

During my time in India, I’ve worked in the theatre in Mumbai and gone on to do films including Besharam, Hawaizaada with Ayushmann Khurrana, Dev Patel’s Lion and the period-drama Begum Jaan. I’ve loved the last two-three years in which I’ve had the opportunity to work in so many territories, diversify my craft and expand my horizons as an Indian-Australian actress.

Lasyapriya Sundaram (BOMBAY TIMES; April 14, 2017)

AN ANALYSIS OF THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2015

The first quarter of the year is about to get over and have been pretty okay. The first quarter of 2014 had delivered hits in the form of Queen and Ragini MMS 2 and also a 100-crore grosser – Jai Ho. However, 2015’s first quarter has been poor. Films that were expected to fetch good numbers like Alone, I, Dolly Ki Doli, Shamitabh, Khamoshiyan, Roy etc turned out to be huge flops. What surprised many was how some of the films were made on an insanely huge budget. Hawaizaada and Shamitabh turned out to be disasters thanks to the costs involved. Both these films hardly attracted viewers and got entry into the list of ‘biggest disasters of recent times’. Roy opened well and might have recovered going by the opening weekend numbers. Sadly, the content was outright disappointing. It started dropping from Day 4 heavily, that left many shocked.

Thankfully, few films made a mark commercially. Baby opened on an average note but held up very, very well. Badlapur attracted people despite the violent theme. Same goes for NH10. Dum Laga Ke Haisha had a very poor opening. But it was a fabulous film and hence sustained beautifully, even during weekdays.

However, a big commercial hit is missing in the first quarter. The industry has suffered many such setbacks previously but sadly, lessons are never learnt. And everyone has to make an effort. The makers on their part should make films on reasonable costs (which is very much possible). This also includes not overspending on publicity. For instance, NH10 was made in 3-4 crores and almost 8-9 crores were spent on publicity. It is said that the film would have opened with similar numbers if the makers had spent even half the amount on publicity. Hence, correct and impactful marketing is the key. Just by going all out is not a guarantee that people will throng to see the film. And more important than the cost is the fact that makers should invest in good scripts. The success of NH10 and Dum Laga Ke Haisha has proved how people are ready to see different subjects. The multiplex wallahs on their post should bring costs down on an immediate basis. It’s shocking to see tickets priced at 300-400 bucks during weekends, for all kinds of films! Theatre owners should realize that they are bound to lose a chunk of audience by having such inflated ticket rates. Thirdly, the audience should be smart as well. There are times when genuine efforts go unnoticed just because those films weren’t ‘typical entertainers’. Audiences should realize that they should invest their hard-earned films on good films, whether or not it’s entertaining in the conventional manner.

However, there’s a lot to cheer. The next quarter promises some fabulous films like Detective Byomkesh Bakshy, Dharam Sankat Mein, Mr X, Gabbar Is Back, Piku, Mastizaade, Welcome Back, Bombay Velvet, Dil Dhadakne Do, Hamari Adhuri Kahani etc. Hope good times are here and they are here to stay!

Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 18, 2015)

Buzz is, Reliance Entertainment is set to shut shop after the debacle of Hawaizaada. But CEO, Sanjeev Lamba, insists they are only "taking time out for introspection"
Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 12, 2015)

PTI (MID-DAY; January 29, 2015)

The makers of upcoming Bollywood film 'Hawaizaada' have thanked the Uttar Pradesh government for deciding to exempt their movie from entertainment tax.

'Hawaizaada' has been directed by Vibhu Puri and stars Ayushmann Khurrana, Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Sharda in pivotal roles.

The decision to make the film tax free was taken at the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, an official spokesman said here.

Welcoming the decision Puri said, "I am thankful to the authorities for this grant. It took me almost five years to put my vision on the big screen. Now, I am sure the film will get its full potential reach in the state of Uttar Pradesh."

"'Hawaizaada' has been granted tax free status in Uttar Pradesh," Ayushmann posted on twitter.

Presented by Reliance Entertainment, 'Hawaizaada' is set in 1895 and inspired from the life and works of Shivkar Talpade, who flew the first ever unmanned plane eight years before the Wright Brothers.

The film is scheduled for release on January 30.

3 MODERATE RELEASES THIS FRIDAY

After the big clash last week, this Friday would see the release of 3 medium-budget films. An analysis on these movies:

KHAMOSHIYAN: It is produced by Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt and marks the directorial debut of director Karan Darra and TV star Gurmeet Choudhary and Sapna Pabbi of 24 fame. Ali Fazal too features in the film. The trailer of the film is alright but the songs are absolutely melodious. And it has caught on big time and because of that, there is hype for the film. Also, it has erotic and horror content which always have been big crowd pulling factors especially when associated with hit music. Also, the costs are reasonable. Khamoshiyan can have the best opening this week although the competition from last week’s release Baby can affect its prospects at certain urban areas.

HAWAIZAADA: This film rests on an interesting tale of Shivkar Talpade, who flew the first aircraft 8 years before the Wright Brothers. Not much information is available on this man and hence, almost 90% of the film is fiction. Ayushmann Khurrana plays the leading role and Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Sharda too feature in the film. It is directed by debutant Vibhu Puri, who has assisted Sanjay Leela Bhansali and who was to make Chenab Gandhi at one point. The film looks fascinating, visually appealing and Ayushmann seems to have done a fine job. Songs sadly haven’t worked. Also, it doesn’t look exciting enough and isn’t a typical entertainer of sorts. Moreover, the film is almost 158 minutes long. Excitement for the film is very less and it seems that it’ll have a tough time at the box office.

RAHASYA: It stars Kay Kay Menon, Tisca Chopra, Ashish Vidyarthi and is directed by Manish Gupta. It is inspired from Aarushi Talwar Murder Case but real names haven’t used. In fact, the Talwars had objected to this film and even slapped a case on the makers. But the Bombay High Court squashed the case. The trailer looks interesting but the promotions have been negligible. Many don’t even know that it’s releasing. Sadly, it’ll vanish without a trace.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE KHAMOSHIYAN, HAWAIZAADA OR RASHYA? DO LET ME KNOW!
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BABY ROCKS BUT UNDERPERFORMS!

The Akshay Kumar-starrer Baby has been loved by the audiences. It is long and devoid of so-called typical entertainment. Yet it works big time and its climax is just terrific. However, it’s shocking that Baby hasn’t really attracted audiences in hordes. In certain pockets, it has worked but in places like Bihar and Rajasthan, the collections are poor.

It is bewildering that a film like Baby hasn’t found success. It is the most appreciated Akshay film in years and I am talking of audiences, not critics. Sadly, India is a diverse country and what works in Mumbai might not work in Bihar. Maybe because it’s not a typical entertainer with songs, music, comedy, many didn’t venture to see the film. Moreover, the costs of Baby are high and it seems that it might not be able to achieve commercial success. Very unfortunate!

The Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer HAWAIZAADA has been awarded with a 'U' certificate by the Censor Board. The following changes were made in the film, as asked by the Board:

1. The word 'Dhakianusi' from 'Dhakianusi Hanuman' phrase was muted and replced with 'Prachin'
2. The word 'Bloody' from 'Bloody Indian' phrase was muted and replaced with 'Crazy'

The duration of the film is 157  minutes. The film releases on January 30, 2015

BOMBAY TIMES (January 25, 2015)

Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 24, 2015)

It is a twin treat for 43-year-old Resul Pookutty who along with Amrit Pritam is up for an award at the 62nd Golden Reel Award by Motion Pictures Sound Editors of America, for their sound design in Kamal Sadanah's Hindi film Roar - Tigers Of The Sundarbans. And he has also landed an all-expense-paid invite to the Oscars on February 22.

"I've been mixing Hawaizaada whose prints are to be dispatched abroad tonight. The last two nights I haven't slept and missed the emails from the sound editor's guild. When I did see them, I thought it was a joke. Then I got a email wondering why I wasn't responding to the nomination," an elated Resul told Mirror. "I haven't even had time to inform my family, only my elder brother knows. I got hugs from the team of Hawaizaada which is also about an asiprational Indian who wants to fly the world's first plane."

What makes the Golden Reel a big deal for the Oscar winning sound designer is that it is judged by the best of his fraternity and since he is nominated in the Foreign Film category, he is up against the best in the world.

"There's nothing beyond this award in my craft but the biggest high is that I'm nominated for my work in an Indian film which just proves that if given the opportunities, funds and creative freedom, our talent is at par with the best in the world," he asserts, pointing out that only in India can one double up as a sound mixer and a sound designer.

Roar was a typical adventure story of the hunter who becomes the hunted. But around the time of the film's release, the news of a man who fell into a tiger's enclosure in Delhi zoo and was eaten, made it a horrifying creature. 'That's not true, tigers only attacks when it's space is encroached. I wanted to underline that and create an emotional impact with the last scene of the mother with her two cubs," he explains.

To underline the hostile environment of the Sunderbans, Resul visited five forests in Assam and on the advice of Wilfrend Van Baelan who invented Auro 3D sound technology in 2005, then mixed then in Dolby atmos. Though Roar wasn't a commercial success, his work has been recognised and appreciated.

The Golden Reel Awards are on February 18. Four days later, he'll be at the Oscars. Being a member of the Academy he gets first priority on tickets but this time he's won the lottery that means it will be a paid vacation. He says, "I asked my wife to come along but the kids have exams so I will go alone on this much-needed vacation, pack in a few meetings, catch up with peers and put the finishing touches on my film script." 

Ayushmann Khurrana on immersing himself into his roles, his failures and how he’s easily content
Prateek Sur (DNA; January 9, 2015)

Excerpts

Hawaizaada comes quite a while after your last film, Bewakoofiyaan (March 2014). Why the long gap?
Because it is the sort of film that needed this kind of a gap. It needed this sort of a distraction from other regular films to be able to work on such kind of a movie. This is the first time that I am not playing a quintessential urban north Indian Punjabi guy. I have moved out of my comfort zone and am playing a Marathi-speaking guy. I had to learn the language properly. Everything had to be perfect from the costumes to the set design to the music to everything. And this gap was created not just because of Hawaizaada but also because of my other film Dum Laga Ke Haisha. Now both the films are ready at the same time and you will get to see them back-to-back this year.

Why the production delay with Hawaizaada?
We shot extensively for 90 days. But we couldn’t shoot in the summers. The film’s backdrop required us to shoot in cool weather. Thus we had to wait for that a bit and then shoot.

After catching the trailer, many Maharashtrian viewers feel you haven’t been able to mouth the Marathi lines correctly...
This can’t be true. The films co-writer Saurabh Bhave, who has written a lot of Maharashtrian films before, was there throughout. I did workshops to get the accent and the dialect perfect. I gave multiple takes and reshots to make sure the dialogue delivery was perfect. Unless Saurabh okayed the word, I used to keep giving takes again and again.

With biopics being all the rage, was it a conscious decision to do one on Talpade’s life?
See, you can’t call this a biopic. The person is very real and he did make the first flight by a man, but as India was just a British colony that time, there is no record of the same. Thus, everything that we know about him is just hearsay. What director Vibhu Puri has done, is develop Shivkar Talpade’s character according to his own imagination. Not much is known about the real-life person and therefore, Vibhu had to develop a full story around this one character. All of it came from Vibhu’s imagination and therefore, you can’t call it a biopic in the proper sense of the word.

When your films don’t work, do you feel you’ve failed as an actor?
Any movie is a team effort. You can’t blame the actor if the film didn’t work and neither can I blame the filmmakers saying that their script was faulty. Its a collective affair and all the factors have to work equally well to make a successful film. And you can never predict what audiences would like and won’t like. You can have the best of everything in a film and still end up being a dud. And you may have everything unconventional where the movie might do wonders at the ticket windows.

You started out the same time as Sidharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan, Arjun Kapoor and others. In terms of films and popularity and success thereof, they’ve left you far behind. Where do you think you failed?
I guess we all debuted the same year, but I got the most Best Newcomer (Male) awards that year. Also, I guess none of them have got an award for singing. I have. That’s where I stand apart from them. Also, I don’t crave much, am laid back and am content with what I get. That’s not to say that I’m not hungry for popularity. By now, I’ve seen so many rejections in life that I’m just happy being able to act and sing. I’m happy with my mild success. I’m okay with mild love. I just want to live a normal life with the people I love.

You’ve gone solo with this film’s music composition. All well between you and Rochak Kohli.
Yeah, yeah... all’s well between us. This time, I decided to try out something, solo. So did he. It was a new experiment for both of us and we hope it works with the audiences. We will definitely be working together in coming months again.

You began the actor-singer trend with Paani Da. Now, every other actor is singing in films. How do you differentiate yourself now?
With no offence to anyone, I sing professionally and it’s not just a hobby for me. I’ve won awards for singing. I have written songs. I’ve composed songs. Also as far as actor-singers go, there’s barely a crowd. Plus, all my songs have been very popular with the masses. All these things differentiate me from others.

Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 6, 2014)

Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; August 13, 2014)

Vibhu Puri’s film, Hawaizaada, starring Ayushmann Khurrana seems to be in trouble. It turns out that some assistant directors working on the film were apparently not paid for a few months and when the payment wasn’t made despite repeated requests, they complained to the union.

After this, Vibhu Puri’s office was apparently ransacked by some union members and his office was shut for sometime. Soon after, the payments were apparently done, but other technicians allegedly raised their voice against the non-payment of their dues. And while their payments too have been made now, it is being said that 10- 15 days’ shoot for the film is still pending.

This has apparently been the case for the past three months. Says a source, “Work on Hawaizaada has stopped because Reliance Entertainment is not willing to spend a single penny on the film now; they have pointed out that the film has already gone over budget.”

A source close to the development says, “The ADs had complained to the union, but we aren’t sure about the office being ransacked. Payments were made later but it is not clear when the remaining shoot will happen.”

Vibhu and the Reliance spokesperson were unavailable for comment.

Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 23, 2014)

Here's the first look of the Ayushmann Khurrana starrer Hawaaizaada, previously titled Bombai Fairytale. Ayushmann's character is inspired by Shivkar Talpade, who is believed to have constructed and flown India's first unmanned airplane, eight years before the Wright brothers.

Said a source close to the production, "In this still you see Ayushmann's character experimenting with a butterfly plane. He struggles with several type of planes, including a pigeon and a fish plane, before he gets one to fly."

Director Vibhu Puri said, "We have done extensive research over the last two years to get the details right. Ayushmann has also learnt Marathi to get the nuances of his character right. As far as the plane is concerned, we got hold of the remains of the original aircraft, Marutsakha, which took flight in 1895. We then hired special artistes to create different looking but nature-inspired aircrafts that we could use for the shoot."

Hawaaizaada co-starring Pallavi Sharda and Mithun Chakraborty opens on October 10.