Ayushmann Khurrana’s is a motivational story like few others. Starting out as a host and VJ, the actor has worked his way up in Bollywood, scripting a success story that has seen him now deliver seven hits on the trot. This has come on the back of his ability to play the Everyman with ease and pick hatke scripts.

On a recent January evening, the Bollywood actor was at The Saturday Club to perform with his band Ayushmann Bhava at the fourth season of Signature Masterclass powered by Signature Packaged Drinking Water .

This season of the masterclass saw three storytellers sharing their stories in front of the actor, out of which one of them was chosen as the winner of the Calcutta leg, with the finalists being given a chance to make their stories into a short film.

Before getting the audience to sing along, Ayushmann sat down for a chat with host-actress Kubbra Sait on his journey.

Kubbra Sait: Tell me about Ayushmann Khurrana before he became Ayushmann the superstar...

Ayushmann Khurrana: I had a very normal childhood. I was very laid-back, all my ambitions were induced by my father. If you don’t have a mentor in life, create one. If I didn’t have a mentor, I would’ve stayed in Chandigarh and would have never gone to Mumbai. Thank god my father discovered certain talents in me and he pushed me really hard to do a lot of things.

Kubbra: So daddy told you, ‘Go son, tu Roadie banega!

Ayushmann: Yes. He said, ‘Tu Roadie hai... tu Roadie banega!’

Kubbra: You grew up in a big house...

Ayushmann: In Chandigarh, property (price) is cheap...

Kubbra: But there was a ‘Punishment room’. Tell us about that...

Ayushmann: Yes, in that room I got beaten up so much! A different sort of BDSM would be carried out there... meaning ‘Bachpan mein pari dad se maar!’ Whenever we misbehaved, they took us to the room and would give us two tight slaps. But we would come out with a straight face with no tears in our eyes. But after shifting to Bombay, because of paucity of space, every room felt like a punishment room!

Kubbra: Which was that turning point when you wanted to become an actor?

Ayushmann: Growing up I was always a Bollywood buff. The first film I watched was Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. There was this song Papa kehte hain bada naam karega and so at every party, shaadi, mundan and birthday, I would sing that song and my father would say, ‘Bas beta, I understood, I believe you’.

After I watched Maine Pyar Kiya, I became a Salman Khan fan and after Qayamat... I became an Aamir Khan fan. After Deewana, I was a Shah Rukh Khan fan. In fact, I studied mass communication because of Shah Rukh Sir. He inspired me so much. My first inspiration came from my grandmother who used to sing at the gurudwara and she used to do mimicry. I have never seen a woman imitate superstars like Dilip Kumar saab, Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor.... In Bala, whatever mimicry I did was only because of my grandmother.

Kubbra: Will you now choose Ayushmann Khurrana the actor or Ayushmann Khurrana the singer?

Ayushmann: I have always believed that I am an actor who sings, not a singer who acts. I will call myself an all-rounder.

Kubbra: What is the secret of your back-to-back hits?

Ayushmann: The idea is not to approach a script as a star. We actors are generally very self-obsessed. We only think about our lines and our part, our profiles, our entries but I think it is the story which is bigger than you always.

Kubbra: Do you ever watch your films with your audience?

Ayushmann: No, it is too overwhelming. I remember when I gave a selfie for the first time. I was 17 and I didn’t sleep all night. Their love is so overwhelming and I am not able to digest it. So I don’t watch my films with the audience because nothing lasts forever. If I fall into the habit of so much love, then how will I live a life when all of these won’t last?

Kubbra: They say that stardom comes with a price. Now that you are a star, what are the normal things you miss out on? Like eating pani puri...

Ayushmann: No. I don’t want to stand on the road and eat pani puri because I have reached here after a lot of hardship. I don’t know why actors complain... ‘I can’t go for walks, I can’t eat this sitting here’. Then go back, leave films, who’s stopping you? I don’t want to do all of this yaar... I have reached here with a lot of difficulty.

But near the Yash Raj Films (office, in Mumbai’s Andheri), there is this tea stall where I used to do my meetings for all my films. Whichever films were hits, the meeting happened there. I told them make me sit there and narrate the story. That part I miss, just for the sake of nostalgia.

Kubbra: What’s left on your list of things to achieve?

Ayushmann: I think the bucket list is getting lighter, but then at the same time I keep on adding more things. I still can’t believe I won the National Award. Andhadhun is a film that I hustled for, I was not the first choice for the film. A lot of actors said ‘no’ to the film because they couldn’t understand the script. But when I got to know about the script, I texted the director (Sriram Raghavan), ‘Sir, if you don’t believe in me, take a screen test’. It is rare for an established actor to give a screen test, there’s a lot of ego involved. I met the director and we did a couple of scenes together. He was convinced that I was the only actor who could learn to play the piano. So my music saved me in that film because the acting many actors could have done, but playing a piano like that nobody could have done.

Ayushmann picked Ankur Singh’s Mr Iyer Ki Juraabein, a simple yet touching story about a pair of differently coloured socks, as the winning entry from the Calcutta leg

ROCKING IT: Taking the stage with his band Ayushmann Bhava, he belted out many a ‘Khan hit’. But what drew the loudest cheers from the audience were his Govinda numbers. A self-confessed Govinda fan, Ayushmann wowed the audience with Meri pant bhi sexy.

On song: Pani da rang from Vicky Donor was an expected favourite, with Ayushmann following it up with Ikk kudi, Moh moh ke dhaage and Coldplay’s Yellow.

CURTAIN CALL: Dance numbers like Aaja aaja and Khambe jaisi khadi hai concluded a power-packed evening.

(L-R) Friends Khushi Agarwal, Tanushree Dalan and Manyaa Kochar enjoyed the evening to the hilt. “I am a big fan of Ayushmann’s. The session where he spoke about his childhood days was really inspiring. I am so glad he sang Pani da rang, that’s my favourite,” said Tanushree

Pompy Ghosh, a ‘huge’ Ayushmann fan, said, “I was really looking forward to the concert. It was a great experience attending it.”

Pictures: Pabitra Das

Pallavi Ruia Dutta (right) attended the event with her sister-in-law Kashica Dutta. “I have heard a lot about Ayushmann’s performances but this is the first time I got to attend one. He was amazing on stage and his versatility really inspires me,” said Pallavi.