In search of acceptance

Known for winning hearts with his critically acclaimed films and taboo-breaking characters, actor Ayushmann Khurrana has once again turned heads with his exceptional choice of role in Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan. Talking to Millennium Post, the National Award-winning actor shared his experience of playing a gay in the film, reunion with Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao, film choices and much more. Read on.

Offbeat films always come with a certain amount of responsibility as they might hurt the sentiments of the general public. What kind of precautions did you keep in mind for Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan?

When you have a solid producer like Anand L Rai, who is an expert in making family films, you do not have to fear. Having said that, the only thing we were concerned about was alienating the masses. Since the beginning, we aimed to spread awareness about homosexuality among the general public. But we also had to keep in mind the thought process of people who do not support the LGBTQ community. It is for the first time that we are showcasing something like this on-screen and therefore had to be extra cautious about what to show to people and whatnot. There was a fine line of discomfort and offence that we didn't want to cross. All that we wanted to convey was the fact that homosexuality is as normal as any other thing and gays are humans too. Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan was my front footed effort to showcase homosexuality.

What was your first reaction when you got to know about your kissing scene with Jitendra?

I was very happy about it because that's what the idea of this movie was – normalising the concept of homosexuality. The scene was very important to the film and it conveys the right emotion and makes the chemistry between me and Jitendra look more real. As actors, both of us had to be convinced that we are not pretending to be gays, rather, we are gays in the film.

You are raising the bar with every film. Does that pressurise you in any way?

I do whatever excites me. I always lookout for the combination of entertainment and content. You can't compare two films or I can't reach out to the same number of people with every film. Every director and producer has a distinct vision and I just

go ahead with it. If I have to do well and excel at my work, I can't afford to take those pressures. Besides success, it is important for me to have the courage of doing something radical in every movie I sign.

How was reuniting with Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao after Badhai Ho?

Oh, they are a great value addition to the film because they have given certain promises to the people that something interesting is going to happen. Every time they come on screen, they just do extraordinary stuff that excites the audience to the core. So I am glad to work with them again for this film.