Anek: Ayushmann Khurrana talks about being an 'outsider' in Bollywood | Exclusive
Headlined by Ayushmann Khurrana, Anek is a political action thriller about an Indian who will rise and make India win.
Ayushmann Khurrana is back with another one of his films that touches upon a topic that is seldom talked about in mainstream films. After Article 15, Ayuhsman has yet again collaborated with director Anubhav Sinha to come up with a socio-political action thriller that delves into a subject that hasn't been explored so far in the landscape of Indian cinema. The film is set to release on May 27.
Headlined by Ayushmann who steps into the shoes of an undercover officer, Anek, is a political action thriller about an Indian who will rise and make India win. The film has been shot in extraordinary locations in the North East and touches on the subject of racial discrimination, discrimination on the basis of language and the country's Northeast tensions such as Naxalite–Maoist insurgency.
So, at a time when his upcoming film is dealing with a topic where Indians who hail from the Northeast face racial discrimination and are sometimes not considered a part of this country aka are treated as 'outsiders, during an exclusive chat with Ayushmann, we at DNA asked him if he ever felt like an outsider in Mumbai since he is an 'outsider' in Bollywood, the actor said, "I haven't really felt much like an 'outsider'."
He added with a smile on his face, "But, of course, during the start of someone's career it's quite obvious to feel like an 'outsider', but once you become successful you are automatically made an 'insider."
Ayushmann further said, "It comes with success actually. It's natural you know if you are a successful anchor or a businessman, you are by default included in that clan. I have worked with Yash Raj Films, Aditya Chopra is the head of YRF, so he never made me feel like an 'outsider' in the industry. Having said that, most of the films that I have done is with those directors and producers who aren't really from the industry, so we all actually supported and pulled each other up and earned success in the process. Now we all are insiders. So yeah I think it's fun working like that."
Ask him if he ever had any apprehension that his film might be mired in controversies considering the sensitive topic it is dealing with, he said, "If there were any chances of controversies then I think the Censor Board would have acknowledged that. It's all about uniting India as one."
"Back in the days, Doordarshan used to air this cartoon script, Ek Chidiya, Anek Chidiya, which actually showed that the diversity of India should always remain as one entity and there's no room for discrimination. In every century, in every generation, there should be such films or such art that talks about Indians as one entity and Anek is that film."
When we asked him if a film talking about how the Northeast is discriminated against was long overdue, Ayushmann said, "It's never too late, but yes it's very unfortunate. As I already said that these matters should be talked about in every generation and in every century through art. There's more awareness now and the brighter side is that tourism has gradually increased in the Northeast. With people coming in contact with each other and communicating, I think there's this huge scope of knowing the people of Northeast. Also it's a very female-centric society, especially in Meghalaya where it's a matriarchal society, which actually shows how progressive they are. So, I think this progressive part of our country needs to be in the limelight."
Ayushmann also pointed out that Anek wasn't a Rs 100 crore film. However, he said that it is an important film that everyone must watch.
"Anek is not a 100 crore film, but a very significant film to watch. I have done commercial films like Dream Girl, Bala and a lot more, and they were successful too. So, I think I get my courage from here to do such bold, significant films like Anek. Of course, my upcoming films like Doctor G and Action Hero belong to the commercial genre but this film is important for the audience," he concluded.