‘I have always been the quintessential rule-breaker’: Ayushmann Khurrana on the year that 2018 was and more...

The phrase, ‘nothing succeeds like success’, holds true in every industry including Bollywood. With four back-to-back successes, Ayushmann Khurrana is in an enviable position today. There’s no denying the fact that he has cemented his place in the film industry with last year’s releases — AndhaDhun and Badhaai Ho. However, 2018 was a mixed bag for him. While he saw a professional high at the box office, his personal life went through a bit of an upheaval when his wife Tahira Kashyap was diagnosed with breast cancer. Besides being an actor, the 34-year-old is deeply in love with words. Not only is he a singer and composer, but quite often, he also shares his shayari on his social media handles. We spoke to the multifaceted actor about the roller-coaster year that 2018 was and the road ahead...

You are being called B-Town’s Mr Dependable. Are you happy to wear the tag?

It feels great because I have stuck to my guns after a few initial hiccups following Vicky Donor (2012). I’ve made choices that have appealed to my sensibilities without going with a certain formula or the convention. I have always been the quintessential rule-breaker, which has worked in my favour. It’s (the success of his films) heartwarming because it is a validation that I received.

So are you the rule-breaker or Mr Dependable?

(Laughs) I think I can be both. It’s important to be a rule-breaker in this day and age because we need to churn out content that is radical,  has no reference point and is out-of-the-box. And to do that, you have to be someone who defies the norms. I’ve been like that from my first film itself. The choices that I’ve made may seem difficult or different to my contemporaries on paper, but I went ahead with them and reaped benefits. Being a rule-breaker has been my USP. 

The dependable tag has come with the box-office success and the fact that my last four films have performed well. It’s more a commercial tag than anything else.

Last year was obviously great for you on the professional front. What have been your major takeaways?

The best takeaway is to always keep the script above everything. You cannot be bigger than the story. An actor needs to pick stories that resonate with people. This is something I have followed so far and my belief been reconfirmed this year. With the kind of success I have seen in 2018, I can only be more confident about my choices and about taking more risks. Maybe they are risks for others, for me, its good content.

People within the industry have acknowledged your knack for picking the right scripts. What’s your secret?

See, the process has been simple. I always believe that I am the audience. People often say that you need to know your audience, but more than that, I believe that I am one of them. When I sit down for narration or read a script, I do so as an audience member. I am there as a guy who has come from Chandigarh and wants to see a film. Then I think whether that person will see this movie. It’s as simple as that. The release part of it was completely unknown to me. That all these films would release consecutively was a coincidence. In 2017, Bareilly Ki Barfi and Shubh Mangal Saavdhan released with a span of two weeks, and the same thing happened in 2018. It was unbelievable (laughs). But it made me realise that if a film is good it doesn’t matter when you release it, people will like it.

You seem to have found your comfort zone with the guy-next-door image.

More than being the guy-next-door, I’ve been the flag-bearer of realistic films. 

These are movies where you don’t see superhuman stuff, like jumping from buildings or bashing up 10 goons. I’m a huge supporter of realistic cinema and I try to weave it with commercial sensibilities. At the same time, I have 
grown up watching commercial Hindi films, and as an actor, I would love to do something on those lines. But there has to be something unique in that script. I have nothing against conventional, commercial films; I get those offers too. 

But I have to find something that stands out in the script even in that realm.

Your wife Tahira spoke about her battle with cancer. How has that experience changed you?

Last year was kind of an eyeopener for me. It has really made me into a man. I have seen everything in this one year — a personal low and professional high. You need to be in a good spiritual state to handle this. It also made me realise that life is a great leveller. When something like this happens, your perspective towards life changes. You don’t believe in extreme happiness or sadness; you tread somewhere in the middle. That’s because you are experiencing both at the same time. I feel I have evolved a lot in the last year. And that has happened because of Tahira. She is the one who took it positively. She believes in life and that’s the best part. She didn’t crib or complain even for a single moment that why is this happening to me. 

I tell her that now you are the 2.0 version your earlier self. It’s not just about our individual journeys, but a collective one. My professional life and her fight with cancer aren’t two separate things. We are doing it together. If you have that kind of a belief then it becomes easier.

While you are doing well on the professional front, what are your personal goals for 2019?

You know, striking a balance between one’s professional and personal life is the toughest thing to achieve. I have been trying to do that for the past six years. If not with films, I am busy with music concerts and other commitments. I am caught up with work throughout the year and things will only get busier from here on. Last year was humongous work-wise. This year, Tahira will start working on her film, too, so it’s going to all the more difficult. Let’s see how ware going to achieve that (work-life balance). On the professional front, I want to be a part of films which are unique and entertaining and also have a certain value addition. Trying to achieve that fine balance between personal and professional life is going to be my aspiration for 2019.