Ayushmann Khurrana Quotes

If you have a mainstream actor attached to a subject like this, it reaches out to a wider audience. We want to reach out to people who believe in caste discrimination and if we are able to change the mindset of one person that will be the true victory for us.

As a person, I was always intrigued by the caste divide in the country. We have separate utensils for our domestic help, we do not share a meal with them or any of our staff. It is all deep rooted. It will take time to get rid of all this. We need to look within and then the conversation will be started. In rural areas the caste divide is very rampant, there are honour killings because of inter-caste alliances. We have depicted the situation as real as it could be in our film.

When I auditioned for TV, they used to tell me all sorts of things. Some said my eyebrows were too thick. Others said my accent was too Punjabi. But I also knew that, being an outsider, merely auditioning for film roles wouldn’t have got me a film. You have to prove your mettle as an actor on TV or in some other medium. Be it me, Sushant Singh Rajput or even SRK and Vidya Balan – everyone has proven their worth on television [before entering Bollywood.]

That's exactly the reaction we wanted. This is good trolling. In a country where erectile dysfunction is a taboo subject, I am glad that we are putting it out there for the public to discuss it.

I was lucky to have him as my co-star. Just like Annu Kapoor, who was such a help in Vicky Donor, Kunal gave my character perspective and provided concentrated energy. Beyond that, I never have any expectations from life.

In Darr, SRK says that his height is 5’9" or 5’10", so I wanted to be 5’9", at least. I used to pray to God every day, ki bhagwan meri height 5’9" kar do. My father is 5’5" and my mother is about the same. So my hopes were really meagre. And then, I grew to five-nine-and-a-half! I was over the moon. I always knew that I had the talent, but height was a bit of a gamble.

Experimentation is the most important thing today. Most young actors will not want to talk about the movies that have made money; they talk about the movies that have given them credibility.

Last two years were very fortunate for me as my films clocked great numbers at the box office and it only gave courage to me to do a film like Article 15. It was a part of my bucket list to do a film like this because I always wanted to do something on a social issue.

After Vicky Donor, life is coming a full circle for me with this film. We are part of a progressive changing society. As young actors, the onus lies on us to choose subjects which must be talking points. Is our work of any value if we don't have an opinion on things?

My acting career has been quite a ride. After Vicky Donor, I gave two-three unsuccessful films and that was a great learning curve. But Dum Laga Ke Haisha onwards it was cool. I learnt so much from all my films, successful or unsuccessful. You start believing in your intuition, your gut feeling. It ultimately depends on the choices you're taking. Everyone is talented today. Your career graph depends on the choice of scripts, nothing else.

I’ve realised something: Either you have to be a superstar, or your script has to be one. So till the time I’m not a superstar, my scripts should do that job.

We have made street plays on social issues and caste discrimination was one of them. Apart from that, I have been supporting an NGO in Delhi. I did all this before ‘Article 15’ came into the picture.

I think I’ve evolved as an actor. My performance was appreciated. People are saying I am not a one-film wonder. That’s the best part of being in this film.

Some people presumed I was just being myself in Vicky Donor, a Punjabi boy trying to find my bearings in life. I had to work much harder on this character in Nautanki Saala. I had to get into a different skin. And the bromance between me and Kunal Roy Kapoor is immensely liked as well.

During my growing-up years in Chandigarh, or even in Mumbai, I’ve never come across nasty people. I’ve only heard of it but never seen the bad side of the film industry. Of course I was rejected many times in auditions. But I wouldn’t call that rude.