‘We are conditioned to stereotype everything around us’

Says Ayushmann Khurrana, who wants to shatter boundaries through his genre-breaking cinema

Ayushmann Khurrana says his aim as an artiste is to tell people not to stereotype themselves or others. And he does this through the cinema that he chooses to be a part of. As an actor, Ayushmann says he intends to hand-pick films that stand out and spread a positive message. “Consciously or unconsciously we are conditioned to stereotype everything around us. Sometimes, we aren’t even aware that we are either getting stereotyped or stereotyping others or stereotyping ourselves,” Ayushmann says, whose film Dream Girl, completes second year of its release today. Speaking about the movie, the actor says he picked the script because it conveyed this important message. “I loved the script of Dream Girl because it told us to not stereotype ourselves because that would limit us from realising our potential and make a difference. It told us that when we break this cycle, we can male a positive change in society.”Ayushmann adds, “My character Karamveer broke away from stereotyping himself when he decided to become Pooja. To me, that was a fresh and disruptive thought and it hit home for me because I’m constantly looking out for such subjects that stand out and have a message to give to audiences,” he says.

The actor credits director, Raaj Shaandilyaa and producer, Ekta Kapoor, for beautifully depicting the message through the film. Ayushmann reveals he will be satiated as an actor if he continues to be on this mission to shatter stereotypes. He says, “If you look at the films that I have done like Bala, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, you will see that I’m trying to tell people to not stereotype themselves. I hope that I can get some really good scripts that help me push this message more. That would make me happy as an artiste.”