“I have never chosen to do a film keeping my box office gains in mind,” says Ayushmann Khurrana

December 13, 2021 - 4:11 PM IST

Bollywood star Ayushmann Khurrana is basking on the outstandingly positive reviews and the word of mouth that his film Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui has been getting. Ayushmann, who is called the poster boy of Hindi cinema in India, is also the biggest risk-taking actor that the Indian film industry has ever seen. Ayushmann hasn’t shied away from portraying characters with erectile dysfunction in Shubh Mangal Savdhaan, a sperm donor in Vicky Donor, a bald man in Bala, an openly gay man in Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhaan and now a man who falls in love with a trans-woman in Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui. Ayushmann reveals that he has never chosen a script thinking how much it will make at the box office!

“I have never chosen to do a film keeping my box office gains in mind,” says Ayushmann Khurrana

The gutsy actor says, “Ever since my debut in Vicky Donor, I have chosen films that have been deemed unconventional or taboo-breaking from a societal point of view. I feel that such films are necessary for India to make. I have felt the need to start a discourse about important issues that need to be addressed. Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui is one such film in my filmography and I’m tremendously proud of it.”

He adds, “I’m lucky to have found a creative partner in Abhishek Kapoor (director of CKA) who too believed that there was a need to bring in focus issues affecting the transgender community in India. This was our attempt to make this conversation relevant and mainstream and I hope that the film will do just that in the days to come.”

Ayushmann, who has been voted as one of the ‘Most Influential People In The World’ by TIME Magazine, says, “I have never chosen to do a film keeping my box office gains in mind. I have not been built like that and I don’t think people expect anything safe from me. So, Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui is one of my riskiest films to date and no matter what the outcome of the film is, I will continue to be a risk-taker because I’m hardwired like that as a human being.”

Ayushmann would any day choose to trigger a nationwide debate through his path-breaking films rather than break his head thinking about how much his film will do at the counters. He says, “If I can start a conversation on bettering society, I will do that in a heartbeat without thinking about the repercussions. I have chosen films by listening to my heart and I will keep doing just that. I am an entertainer and I will try to engage people with my kind of cinema. I don’t see myself changing course for anything.”

Ayushmann hopes that Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui, which had a big growth of collections through the weekend, will take its rightful place in the history of Indian cinema because of its progressive intent to change society.

He says, “I have always felt that we are a part of a progressive generation that wants to have a conversation about inclusivity. My belief system comes from my family and close friends who are vocal about the need to bring the nation’s attention to subjects that need to be discussed on a pan-India level. I’m really happy that I found the script of Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui and made the film with the purest of intentions. I hope the film has an incredible shelf life and entertains Indians worldwide.”

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