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How to crack the Bollywood code? Ask Ayushmann Khurrana

It's your rejections that make you, Ayushmann Khurrana, that rare breed of Bollywood outsider who's done it all it takes to make it big -- acting, singing, dancing, radio, composing and assisting a director – tells Amrita Madhukalya

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Ayushmann Khurrana with wife Tahira.
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His grandmother's mimicry of Bollywood greats like Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor are some of actor Ayushmann Khurrana's fondest childhood memories. "I would look at her in awe, and always wanted to be her. When, as a teenager, I nursed a dream to make in big in the movies, she would be my reference. I have never seen a woman her age mimic anyone ever since," he says.

Khurrana and his wife, Tahira Kashyap -- tired after a day of back-to-back interviews for Cracking the Code: My Journey to Bollywood, the actor's memoir published by Rupa Publications that they have co-written – are dashing to the railway station so they can catch their train to Chandigarh.

They are the Bollywood normcore. Bollywood is "just his job and we leave it at that", is how Tahira puts it as we tear through Delhi's maddening traffic.

Considering the star that he is today, it is surprising that Khurrana packed his bags and left for home right when fame came knocking on his door. Twice. And both times before he had turned 20.

His first brush with fame was when he was 17 years old and managed to be in the top eight of the reality music show Popstars in 2001. The second was when he won the 2004 edition of Roadies.

"Many stayed back to cash in on the Roadies fame. But I listened to my father and went back home to complete my studies," says the now 30-year-old. So, for the next five years, he studied and dabbled in theatre and music. "Those years shaped who I am today."

The book, an endearing account of his struggle to be an actor, talks about his radio shows, auditions and rejections; it also talks of his perseverance. He writes about the time bosses at MTV scoffed at his Hindi when that rare opportunity to fill up Nikhil Chinappa's shoes on Select came up. He talks of being rejected for a small role in the Imran-Sonam starrer I Hate Luv Stories. And tells you of the time he tied a turban to his head to audition for Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. In fact, he was not the first choice for Vicky Donor either. Vivek Oberoi and Sharman Joshi were in the fray before the filmmakers considered him.

"They wanted an endearing character that could pull off the below-the-belt humour of the movie. And that's were I came in. Shoojit Sircar had seen me anchor Just Dance, and asked me for a screen test, and I was selected," says Khurrana.

"Today, studios in Mumbai are a more democratic set-up. You can be from anywhere and audition for a part in a movie. You can also make your way into the movies through TV. I made it through the small screen after a long gap since Shah Rukh Khan and Vidya Balan made it," says the father of two, who in his debut Vicky Donor, a sleeper hit about a sperm donor, played father to 50 kids.

Khurrana is that rare breed of Bollywood outsider who's done all it takes to be who he is today. "Reality shows, singing, dancing, acting, radio shows, composing, assisting a director, I've done it all. And, I guess, that's why I remain rooted. It is your rejections that make you," says the actor whose next film, Dum Laga Ke Haisha, about a man grudgingly married to an obese woman has left many talking with its unusual plot.

"When Hawaizaada failed to make a mark, Aditya Chopra thought it was best to release the trailer. Public memory is very fickle," he says. Khurrana has a three film deal with Chopra's Yash Raj Studios.

His love for music intact, he recently came out with his second single, Mitti Di Khushboo, which he had composed with childhood friend Rochak Kohli. Pani Da Rang, which bagged him the Filmfare Award for the best singer, was also composed during his college days with Kohli. "I want to work on my music more, and will soon come out with my own band, Ayushmann After School," says Khurrana.

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