'Audiences disproved box office conspiracy theories in 2023'

The year 2023 was significant for both Bollywood and Ayushmann Khurrana and the actor recently said that the success of his film ‘Dream Girl 2’, along with several other mid-budget movies, proved that audiences are hungry for new storytelling on the big screen after a disappointing 2022.

Backing his viewpoint with examples like his ‘Dream Girl 2’, Akshay Kumar’s ‘OMG 2’ and Sunny Deol’s ‘Gadar 2’, Khurrana told ‘Variety’, “There was a conspiracy theory, maybe a year ago, that Indian audiences were only looking for spectacles or larger-than-life films, but this year, a lot of films like the aforementioned ones, which were not big budget but mid-budget, did really well.”

“ ‘Dream Girl 2’ did well. So did ‘OMG 2’ and ‘Gadar 2’ was technically also a mid-budget film. That norm has been broken. That conspiracy theory has been proven wrong,” he added.

Khurrana emphasised that in 2023, audiences were open to anything different that resonated with them, noting, “It doesn’t really have to be a spectacle or a big film. We’ve seen small films working now. The industry is back on track. That’s a very positive sign this year.”

Opening up about his acting choices, Khurrana said, “I would obviously be a little different in every film. I would like to do something that has never been told before, but at the same time in the realm of the relatability factor, keeping the larger audience in mind. I’m not really genre-specific in terms of my choices. They just need to resonate with me.”

He also expressed interest in revisiting the action genre, where he previously earned acclaim with ‘An Action Hero’ and exploring horror-comedy.