Ayushmann Khurrana is a trendsetter of an actor, not by choice. But because, well that’s how he is. The conventional doesn’t suit his temperament. Known to opt for out-of-the-box characters, the star has no qualms about taking up projects that are daring and experimental. From his acting debut in Vicky Donor to stellar performances in Dream Girl, Bala and Article 15 among others, Ayushmann has become a force to be reckoned with but a handful of his films have not been as good as they were initially put out to be. On that note, here are his five career decisions which shocked us and continue to do so!
- Vicky Donor He chose to begin his movie career with Vicky Donor, a film about a guy who sells his semen in small glass bottles to earn a living. “It could have finished me off,” recalls Ayushmann. The audience loved his non-referential act and called him the new Amol Palekar which was wildly incorrect. Palekar
played the middleclass white-collar worker. But he hardly ever played an unconventional role. - Nautanki Saala and Bewakoofiyan Ayushmann tried more conventional roles in his next two films, Nautanki Saala and
Bewakoofiyan. The audiences felt exactly that: the actor was doing nautanki and his attempts at playing the conventional hero were just bewakofee. - Dum Laga Ke Haisha He quickly gravitated towards the Mr Everyman role in Dum Laga Ke Haisha where he had to shoulder all the weight, including that of the leading lady Bhumi
Pednekar who at that time weighed more than Ayushmann. At the end of the film, he had to run with Bhumi on his shoulders. He never stopped running thereafter, sometimes without a heroine too (hint: Article 15)! - Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhaan
and Dream Girl Not all of Ayushmann’s acclaimed films are as good as they are were initially made out to be. Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhaan and Dream Girl were not as calibre-conscious as Bala and Section 15. It is due to his reputation that they were all accorded the same ‘If-it’s-Ayushmann-it’s-got- to-be-good’ status.
- Gulabo Sitabo After his latest Gulabo Sitabo, it’s time for Ayushmann to rejuvenate his exemplary career. If the film had opened in movie theatres it would have flopped miserably. Calling a crashing bore by any other name would be doing it injustice.
