Ayushmann Khurrana: Every actor has his zone, doing taboo-breaking cinema is my zone

Ayushmann Khurrana is making his onscreen appearance, in a yet another distinct role, in Bala. The actor plays the role of man facing premature balding. While talking to BT he reasons why he picks up such quirky characters, always. The actor also opens up about his brother Aparshakti, who too is set out on a journey in Bollywood, his cancer survivuor wife Tahira, the work that’s keeping her busy and lot more.
Just a week ago, a film based on a similar subject hit the theatres. Bala, also went through its own ordeal, with the release date going back and forth to avoid the clash.
We were the first to release the teaser (of a film based on premature balding). We completed the shooting of the film before anybody else did. We were the first one to get that idea. Anyway, it’s okay that there are more films coming on the same subject. Eventually, the content will speak, and we are confident about our film.
We know you love your hair, so, when you saw yourself with the bald look in the mirror, what was your reaction?
The first time I saw myself like that, I thought I looked like my grandpa. He had less hair. It felt really different. For my research, I met a lot of my friends who had a receding hairline or were bald. I realized that there were two perspectives. One was, they were full of complexes, the other was that they had accepted themselves the way they were. They were confident about the other talents they had. They were also confident that women thought they were attractive. This is exactly the journey of my character in the film, from being a person with complexes to self-acceptance. Likewise, there is Bhumi’s (Pednekar) character who is dark-skinned and believes in self-love. On the other hand, is Yami’s character in the film is someone who is a fair-skinned model.
Coming back to my bald avatar, when I was shooting for Bala in Kanpur, I was surprised to see that nobody could recognize me. I used to cross the street, walk around the gallis and people wouldn’t even react. They knew that Ayushmann was in their town for the shoot, and they would ask, ‘Ayushmann kidhar hai?’, but wouldn’t spot me even when I would pass by them. I thought that I would get mobbed by people, instead main toh saamne se nikal jaata tha, aur logon ko pata bhi nahi chalta tha.
Have you faced hair loss in real life?
No. I am genetically blessed. My father turns 70 next year and he still has good hair. I know a lot of actors who wear wigs or have got transplants done to hide their baldness. However, I look up to someone like Rajinikanth. Onscreen he plays such varied, larger-than-life characters, but off-screen he is himself (doesn’t shy away from appearing bald in public).
From playing the role of a man facing erectile dysfunction (Shubh Mangal Saavdhan) to a man facing premature balding (Bala), to being part of the upcoming Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, which is based on homosexuality, how is it that you always pick up movies with distinct and taboo-breaking characters?
Well, that’s because this (taboo-breaking cinema) is my zone. This is my staple -- taking up quirky, taboo-breaking, social, slice-of-life films. Well, there has to be an impetus for the audience to buy tickets and watch something very different, right? Every actor has this zone. You can't have a Tiger (Shroff) not do action in his films. Having said that, once in a while, I will venture out and do movies like Andhadhun and Article 15. These two films were not even made for me. I extracted these scripts out of directors Sriram Raghavan and Anubhav Sinha respectively. For Andhadhun, I went up to the director and asked him to take my screen test. He was looking for someone else. He said that a movie like this wasn’t my zone. Likewise, Anubhav had a quirky romcom for me, but I told him that he should do a film like Mulk with me. I asked him to share the subjects that he was working on with me. He told me about this film (Article 15), which was earlier titled Kanpur Dehat. I read the draft, I got excited and then we went ahead with it. Content is very important for me. If I don't get good films, then I will just do events, sing at weddings and college concerts for survival.
Your brother Aparshakti is now getting noticed in Bollywood. As a character actor, he is getting good roles too in content-driven films. Any chances of coming together for a film?
He is having a beautiful journey. I am proud of him. He is only shown his funny side till now, but I know he has got a lot in him and can pull off varied roles with finesse. He is extremely talented. While I take time over a script when it comes to picking the right one, he has a talent in sniffing the best one in a jiffy. I liked him in Dangal and Stree. We are looking forward to working together. I am waiting for a good script where we can play siblings on screen.
As an elder brother and an actor who has seen many years in this industry, does Aparshakti discuss the scripts that he is looking at?
Well, it is both ways. Whenever we are not sure about a project, we discuss it with each other. We speak about the pros and cons associated with the project. We have got a keen eye on good scripts.
Personally, what kind of bond do the two of you share?
Initially, it was very irreverent. Later, it grew to a typical elder-brother-younger brother kind of a bond. Now we are more like friends. I remember we never cracked adult jokes in front of each other, but now we are more casual and do that.
Your wife Tahira went through a tough phase during her battle with Cancer. Is she back to work now?
She is in Chandigarh, busy with the pre-production of a film. She is also working on a couple of short movies. I hope she writes something for me too. She is mostly obsessed with female protagonists. I don't know if I will ever get a chance to act in a project helmed by her.