The man with the Midas touch is all set to charm the box office, yet again. Ayushmann Khurrana will look to score his eighth hit on the trot with Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, in which he plays a gay man. A t2 chat with Ayushmann — the man who can currently do no wrong — on his recent trip to Calcutta.
What do you think this film will do for a gay man in small-town India who hasn’t yet mustered the courage to come out of the closet?
It’s a great first step because till now, Bollywood hadn’t come up with an out-and-out love story between two boys. We are not shying away from presenting the subject, no holds barred. We are two gay boys, we are in love and we are ready to take on the world for our love. This is the main focus of the film… the gay love story is not a side track or a sub-plot… everything in Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan revolves around these two boys and their relationship. At the risk of repeating myself, I want to keep stressing on the fact that this is a full-fledged gay love story. It’s a first in Hindi mainstream cinema and we are looking at it to trigger off some conversations.
Your parents apparently watched the trailer on loop. How important is validation from family for you, given how consistently you play unconventional characters?
It’s very important. But then again, we have all had our own journeys. In my younger years, growing up in Chandigarh, I wasn’t as evolved or woke as I am today. Like me, my family wasn’t as evolved in their thinking as they are today. I have changed with times. The kind of mould-breaking, progressive cinema that I have been doing over the last few years has been a part of my growth. I learn and grow with every film that I do. My parents are very excited about Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan and that shows how progressive they have become, something that they weren’t so much before. So, I expect the same kind of metamorphoses in people who are against homosexuality… that they will also become progressive in the future, sooner rather than later.
Did you have any dos and don’ts while approaching this film, given that it could potentially ruffle at least some feathers?
While picking this subject and making the film? Not really. Initially, we had thought of not keeping the kissing scene (between Ayushmann and Jitendra Kumar) in the trailer. I wasn’t sure how the family audiences would react to the kiss and was in favour of keeping it in the film, but not using it in the trailer. But in retrospect, I am glad we kept it, because it flows seamlessly with the rest of the trailer. There’s nothing creepy — for want of a better word — about it. We decided not to shy away from it. The kiss, in fact, is the only thing that we have in this film... there are no physically intimate moments between the two boys. It just has a kiss, but when you watch the film, you will realise that the kiss says it all.
Unanimously, people have accepted the trailer, which is great! This kind of a subject needs to be presented in an entertaining way, otherwise it will be difficult for the mainstream audience to grasp what we want to say through the film. We have seen serious subjects being made on homosexuality, but it doesn’t solve the purpose because the idea is to reach out to people who are still against the LGBTQ community. That’s the primary purpose of Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan. I am glad that the first step of reaching out to the audience, which is the trailer, has met with such an overwhelmingly positive response.
Like Hitesh, do you also feel that humour was the only way to tell this story?
Absolutely! Any taboo-breaking subject has to be dealt with humour, or it will become too dark. The audience, largely, doesn’t want to watch dark films. People come to the theatre to get entertained. The primary motive of any creative work should be to entertain and if you can temper it with some sort of value creation, then there is nothing like that. Most of the films I have done, starting right from my debut film Vicky Donor, have been films that have been very entertaining, but have always had something to say. There has to be some sort of conversation or discussion that a film brings about. And I believe that Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan will do that in heaps.
You consistently play men with flaws, men who are vulnerable and who also have their own strengths in a way. Do you try and find yourself in the men that you play?
More than anything else, since I have a very diverse upbringing, I have been exposed to different cultures, different kinds of people… that’s largely happened because of my early exposure to theatre. I have travelled a lot within the country and met people from varied economic and social backgrounds. That’s really helped me. There may be a little bit of me in every character I play, but then — as creepy as it sounds! (Laughs) — I also feel that there are many people within me. I am not just a Punjabi boy from Chandigarh, I am much more than that. I write in Hindi and Urdu, I understand and speak a little bit of Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi…. I think I am quite diverse in that sense. Yes, of course, you tend to incorporate quite a bit of yourself in the characters that you bring alive on screen, but it’s also the sum total of my experiences and the exposure that I have had.
How do you react to this increasing talk about how you have created and aced the ‘Ayushmann Khurrana small-town film with a message’ sub genre?
People have started expecting so much out of me… it’s a little unnerving at times, but it’s also such a good feeling (smiles). I do have this image of being this small-town taboo-breaking guy, but once in a while, I want to break the mould and do an Article 15 or an Andhadhun. That’s now become very important for me in order to keep showing the audience my versatility. And now, I am eagerly looking for an action thriller to sign on. I have never done action in my life and I am itching to do an action film now. But at the same time, I don’t want to give up on my staple genre of slice-of-life films with a message.
By default, most of the taboo-breaking subjects will be placed in small towns because in bigger cities, people are more woke, intelligent, aware and intellectual. Homosexuality is widely accepted in Bombay, Bangalore, Calcutta… so if a film like Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan is set in these big cities, there will be no conflict. But if you place it in say, Allahabad, then suddenly, you will open up a can of worms. That’s why subjects like these have to be placed in the middle-class milieu of small-town India because we are the so-called flagbearers of morality… we all have our own definitions of morality… good, bad or ugly.
You just mentioned that you want to do an action film. Is a so-called brainless Bollywood comedy also something that could interest you?
I think Dream Girl was quite brainless in a way! (Laughs) It was slapstick, but then again it had something to say. It widened my audience base and increased my reach. I have a loyal multiplex audience, but Dream Girl created inroads for me into the single-screen audience because of the kind of humour it had. All respect to those who make commercial Bollywood films. For me, doing that is tough… if you don’t have a solid plot and are just depending on the mass pull of an actor to get in your numbers, then it’s brave (smiles). Also, pulling off humour that needs to cater to the masses is not easy.
The last time we spoke, you were about to go on your break. Two months down, how is it going?
It’s been great. I don’t know when I will shoot a film again. I haven’t signed anything new. It’s now just going to be making some music and promoting Shubh Mangal… and then Gulabo Sitabo. Happy times! (Laughs)
