Celebrity Column: Shubh Mangal Vishraam, writes Ayushmann Khurrana

There was a time in 2007, when I used to stare at a billboard of Om Shanti Om outside Infiniti Mall, Andheri, and would dream of seeing the hoarding of my own film at the same place. Whenever I used to pass that place, my resolve would only get stronger. It was in 2012, when Vicky Donor’s hoarding was miraculously positioned right at the same place. I remember, my wife was with me when I’d parked my car on Link Road one day in the month of April in 2012. It was late in the night, with no traffic — we spent half-an-hour just staring at that legendary hoarding of my first film. I got the same feeling that I had experienced when I got my first bicycle when I was five. The mid 20s self of mine was behaving like a small, school kid. There is a certain part of all of us that lives outside time. That moment revealed that side of mine. Cut to 2017, the hoarding of my new film Bareilly Ki Barfi is also placed at the same space. And five days from now, my brand new film, Shubh Mangal Saavdhan’s hoarding will be placed next to it.

It will be a rare sight for any actor with two films running simultaneously. This situation of back-to-back releases is rare. In the October of 1978, Bachchan saab’s four films released back-to-back in a month’s time. All became superhits! He revealed how the audience doesn’t mind watching four films of the same actor, in the same month, as long as the actor delivers good content and entertainment. The films that released back-to-back and went on to become superhits were Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Kasme Vaade, Don and Trishul. Interestingly, two of these four films — Kasme Vaade and Don — saw Bachchan saab in a double role. Another intriguing fact is, in three out of the four films, Rakheeji played the heroine opposite him. What’s commendable is that all four films were directed by different filmmakers, had drastically different stories, and saw Bachchan saab essaying diametrically opposite characters.

No, I’m no Bachchan. I’m just a humble fan. But I’m glad Bareilly Ki Barfi has clicked, and so has Toilet: Ek Prem Katha. Both, Bhumi and I, are coming on the back of successful films and the cumulative happiness is reflecting on Shubh Mangal Saavdhan.

The kind of love I’m getting from men of this generation, who are coming out of their shells to express their sexual issues, is flabbergasting. Am I about to become the poster boy of beta males of our nation? Do guys really face performance anxiety? Is the feeling, which I get before going on stage at a concert, similar to the one that a lot of men have before going for a sexual act? I’m still trying to figure this out.

Men. This breed exaggerates when it comes to their machismo. Ernest Hemingway, the master, was no different. It is said that throughout his life, Hemingway never spoke a single word of truth. He exaggerated the number of wounds he had suffered during the First World War, and he pretended to be a great seducer even though it was proved in August 1944 and then again in July 1959 that he had been completely impotent. No ‘hard’ feelings guys, but we need to be ourselves. Accept it if you can’t have a boner. Don’t shove it under the carpet. Go see a sexpert. When women are okay with their gynae issues being discussed openly, then why do we get cold feet about facing our ‘gents problems’. We hope our film will trigger a step towards this issue. Phew. So what will Sugandha tell Mudit in Shubh Mangal Saavdhan when she’ll discover his problem? — Shubh mangal ‘vishraam’.