The Path Less Travelled
Like cover star Ayushmann Khurrana, HT Brunch presents ideas you may have thought about, but never truly considered
When Vicky Donor became a surprise hit 10 years ago, nobody said “A star is born.” At best, Ayushmann Khurrana was the actor who happened to land the right role at the right time… he had the guts to play a sperm donor at a time when Bollywood was still prudish about sex—a part that even the producer of the film, actor John Abraham, hadn’t dared to take on himself!
Over the next few years, Ayushmann’s films remained staunchly subject-led, touching on caste, ageism, gender bias, even erectile dysfunction, balding, emasculation and gay rights.
None of these movies may have been society-altering discourses; but they were enough to get conversations started. Every story was tackled with a rough-edged humour that made the unspoken acceptable. The racier themes could have well gone down the Carry On... route, but didn’t.
Our cover story celebrates these unconventional 10 years in the life of an actor (Page 7).
In 2020, Time magazine called Ayushmann Khurrana one of the 100 Most Influential People In The World. But to me, Ayushmann is special for more than that.
I have known him as a fledgling actor, almost-blinded by the spotlight when it shone so bright, but determined to look beyond. All our collabs have been in a space of mutual respect, a quality often lost with success and power.
Ayushmann’s true character shone through as he stood alongside his wife when she battled cancer, then exhibited not the least bit of insecurity as Tahira Kashyap-Khurrana came into her own as
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an activist, author and opinion-leader. Ayushmann has kept his sons far away from his stardom, has always attempted to take his brother and close friends along as he climbed the ladder of success, and has forever been deeply respectful of his parents, especially his father.
As a millennial actor, Ayushmann is constantly using new media to connect with fans. He doesn’t always get it right, but he’s willing to try!
My only grouse would be that he’s relegated singing to second fiddle. Pani da rang from 10 years ago remains an all-time favourite, and he now has an army of fans waiting to sing along to his every tune.
Also in this issue: one of India’s best-known film critics, Rajeev Masand, makes his debut as a fortnightly Bollywood columnist with a provocatively-titled page, Spoilers Ahead (Page 19).
And the wellness guru who has captured India’s collective attention, Luke Coutinho, turns in his second column for HT Brunch, listing foods that are good for your hair and your confidence (Page 18).
And author Shunali Khullar Shroff plays the part of a worried parent as she picks on the sexualised Instagram content teens resort to in order to gain likes and followers (Page 4).
As always, HT Brunch continues to traverse the path less travelled—à la Ayushmann, and surprise you with our clutch of India’s best columnists, as well as ideas that you may have thought of, but haven’t brunched on yet.
“KHURRANA’S UNUSUALLY THEMED MOVIES HAVE HAD A ROUGH-EDGED HUMOUR THAT MADE THE UNSPOKEN ACCEPTABLE”