Ayushmann in thriller mode in AndhaDhun
Tabu, Ayushmann Khurrana and Radhika Apte talk to City Times about working in Andhadhun with Sriram Raghavan, who is known to be the king of the thriller genre in Bollywood
The minute Ayushmann Khurrana heard that director Sriram Raghavan was looking for a leading man for his next film, he texted the director requesting for a screen test. It is not common in Bollywood for leading actors to audition for roles. In fact, it is very rare for male actors to pick up the phone and call directors asking for a role. But Ayushmann wanted to give his best shot to work with the director who is known for his amazing skill in the noir genre.
“I had a bleak idea of the script and that got me really interested. Sriram is rock solid and he is the only director in Bollywood who knows how to crack the genre of a thriller in India. It is one of the first films where I directly approached the director, normally I wait for directors to call me. I thought it was high time I should do something different and try a thriller. Hence, I approached Sriram and asked him to audition me. I have never done this before, but I went to the office and told him, ‘I know you are making this thriller and you are looking for a leading guy and I want to give an audition.’ Hence, he took my screen test and thankfully it worked out and I got Andhadhun,” revealed Ayushmann while talking to City Times.
“I have been doing slice-oflife films so far, but this one is completely different and that too with the master of noir/ thriller, hence I am excited,” he added.
Ayushmann will be playing a blind pianist in the film. He witnesses a murder which leads to various plot twists. Andhadhun, which releases in
There is no dearth of talent in our country.” Ayushmann Khurrana
the UAE this weekend, marks the first collaboration between Raghavan and Ayushmann. The film also stars Tabu and Radhika Apte.
Ayushmann who has been constantly breaking the mould with movies like Vicky Donor, Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Shubh Mangal Saavdhan,
Bareilly Ki Barfi etc prepared for his character by studying the characteristics and body language of blind people. “My character is a blind person. He witnesses a murder and things turn topsy-turvy from there. This guy is very passionate about music. I went to a blind school in Worli, Mumbai, and spent around two days with students over there. I met with students who were blind since childhood and others who recently became blind. I studied their body language.” Being a musician himself, the Pani Da singer looks at music differently, post this experience.
“I also met a musician who is blind to study how he approached a piano, and he marks his position in the center. It was a very enlightening experience for me to understand the world from a blind person’s perspective and also understand music from their perspective. It was a unique experience. A lot of people say that music is their life, but in the real sense of the world, music is truly a blind man’s life because it is their most reliable sense apart from the sense of touch. Music is everything for a blind man. Hearing is entertainment for them. Unfortunately, in our country, music is a visual medium for most people but the pure form of music can only be experienced by listening and immersing yourself in it.”
Meet the ladies
This is the first time that Tabu is working with Sriram. “I always wanted to work with Sriram and we were really waiting for a project to collaborate. It’s a world that can be created only by him. He has a monopoly on this kind of storytelling. It comes naturally to him. He doesn’t contrive it and that’s his greatest defining quality. With Sriram, the pro-
cess is very collaborative. I can talk to him about anything,” Tabu told us.
Whereas for Radhika Apte, Sriram is one of the few directors that she would blindly work with, without even looking at the script. “I would like to be in every film that he does. He is crazy. He has an out of the box way of thinking and he can twist the story in a very unpredictable way. He still keeps the story very human.” Radhika has already worked with Sriram in Badlapur. All three actors are working together for the first time. Though they agree that working with Sriram is a very collaborative process, Ayushmann argued that a non-actor could never work with Sriram. “There is a lot of improvisation. A non-actor cannot work with Sriram, you have to be on your toes and you need to think and understand your character completely. You need to be in tune with your director as well. He is always three steps ahead and thinking. It’s been a great learning experience.”