The Dependable Mr. Khurrana

After a career resurrection of sorts in 2017, Ayushmann Khurrana knocked it out of the park last year, delivering two smashing performances (Andhadhun, Badhaai Ho) in films that won over critics and the box office. From the ‘common man’ representative to becoming one of the poster boys of quality — and commercially viable — cinema, Khurrana has proved that he has enough acting muscle to shoulder solo projects. This year, he has a number of releases, making him possibly the busiest actor in the industry. He’s bringing in the new age of Bollywood — intelligent, socially conscious and dedicated to the medium.

- Mayukh Majumdar

From winning the second season of MTV Roadies to starring in one of the highest grossing Hindi films, what’s the journey been like?

I always wanted to be an actor since childhood. Roadies happened by default. I never thought I’d fit in that prototype of a Roadie, but I was in the final year of college at that time and I always wanted to be an actor, and suddenly I just gave the Roadies audition. It happened, and because of it, I got so many triggers in life. I became a VJ and from a VJ I became an actor, so things happen for a reason. Roadies really helped me to move forward in life. So it was all planned, it was all destined. I really worked hard towards it, I was very regular with my theatre and academics also at the same time, because my dad was very strict about it. He was like if you don’t top your college, I’ll not let you do theatre, so he kept that condition which worked in a way, so I began journalism out of that. Then radio happened after Roadies, and then anchoring on television and VJing, and then Vicky Donor happened.

Even after all of this, do you feel like you belong to the inner coterie of Bollywood?