Boys In The Hood

The new generation of leading men have officially arrived. They’re the funny guys, the pin-ups and the unlikely antagonists lighting up a screen near you. Presenting Ayushmann Khurrana and Vicky Kaushal.

- Tanya Mehta

REBEL WITH A CAUSE

Ayushmann Khurrana

In the fiercely competitive landscape of Indian cinema, encountering commercial success and critical acclaim no longer stem from a stroke of luck. It’s a true anomaly then that Ayushmann Khurrana has not one but two stellar hits – Andhadhun and Badhaai Ho, all in a single month. We’ve followed Khurrana’s work over the years, from when he first shot to fame in his role as a sperm donor in Vicky Donor, what’s followed is a sequence of cliché-cracking films that have not only been wildly entertaining but have also triggered a mental gear-shift amongst the Indian audience. And a welcome one at that. But Khurrana’s journey hasn’t been one without its hurdles, from playing anchor on the cricket field to VJ on MTV, the actor has traversed through the various layers of television before he had his big moment at the movies. Today, we’re chatting in his car as he shuttles from our cover shoot to his next meeting. “I was born and raised in Chandigarh, and it was my grandmother who first encouraged me to act. I’ve never watched an elderly lady mimic Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor with such conviction. However, it was never an encouraged career choice in my family, I had to come to Bombay and start from scratch.”