Ayushmann Khurrana, The Dark Horse

He starred in two of last year’s biggest films, Andhadhun and Badhaai Ho – the latter eclipsing Baahubali 2 at the box office, a cultural phenomenon in its own right. And Ayushmann Khurrana’s star is only likely to continue rising, with two offbeat projects, Dream Girl and Bala, in the works. GQ caught up with the man of the moment, who reveals why he chose acting over singing, and why he believes solitude is vital to nurturing a rich inner life

- Shikha Sethi

Ayushmann Khurrana’s father is a well-known astrologer, but even he couldn’t have predicted the extent of his son’s recent success. When I meet him at St Andrews Turf Park on a muggy evening in Mumbai, he hasn’t slept much: The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of shooting for Dream Girl in Agra and Mathura. I ask about his favourite scriptwriters, and he name checks Shakun Batra (Kapoor & Sons), Juhi Chaturvedi (Vicky Donor, Piku) and Sharat Katariya (Dum Laga Ke Haisha), but is equally quick to remind me that a good idea can come from anywhere. “Juhi was not Juhi before Vicky Donor, Sharat was not Sharat before Dum Laga Ke Haisha; Shantanu [Srivastava] or Akshat [Ghildial] weren’t that big before Badhaai Ho… So you just need to keep your eyes and ears open for fresh talent.” It’s a principle he’s stood by: The only A-list film-maker Khurrana’s worked with is Sriram Raghavan, who already had several hit films under his belt before he directed him as a blind pianist in Andhadhun. Everyone else, including his co-stars Yami Gautam and Bhumi Pednekar, were untested talent.

Khurrana is also a creative polymath, a singer and a poet whose couplets have been earning the actor thousands of likes and retweets on Twitter. He’s an unabashed fan of Coke Studio Pakistan, and happy to share his newest musical discoveries: “Nescafé Basement is edgier than Coke Studio. Of the current lot, Ali Sethi is very good. His version of “Ranjish Hi Sahi” is almost as good as the original, which is amazing because he’s very young. He’s a purist who knows his craft.” As is Khurrana, who has a playlist in his head for the most important people in his life (including himself).

What are your earliest memories of music?