2023 was the year when the Indian film industry regained the confidence and trust of cinephiles by coming up with movies like The Kerala Story, 12th Fail, OMG 2, and Mrs. Chatterjee vs. Norway, among others. While most of these weren’t big-budget projects, they made a positive impact on the box office. Ayushmann Khurrana thinks that the reason behind this is that the audiences are hungry for new storytelling and quality content.
Ayushmann Khurrana says Indian audiences are looking for stories that resonate with them
In a recent interview with Variety, Ayushmann Khurrana shared that it was a common misconception that Indian audiences only showered love on big-budget films like Jawan, Pathaan, or Tiger 3. He said, “There was a conspiracy theory, maybe a year back, that Indian audiences were only looking for spectacles or larger-than-life films. But this year, a lot of films, which not really big budget but mid-budget, did really well.”
The Doctor G actor further stated, “Dream Girl 2 did well, so did OMG 2, and Gadar 2 was technically also a mid-budget film. That norm has been broken; that conspiracy theory has been proven wrong.” He added that in 2023, the audience would accept anything which is different which just connects with them. “It doesn’t really have to be a spectacle or a big film. We’ve seen small films working now. The industry is back on track. That’s a very positive sign this year,” Khurrana added.
Ayushmann Khurrana talks about doing movies with unconventional stories
Ayushmann Khurrana’s extensive filmography boasts of movies like Vicky Donor, Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Badhaai Ho, Dream Girl, and Bala, among others, all of which have a very unique storyline. Speaking about the choices of movies he makes, the actor said he would be a little different in every film.
“I would like to do something which has never been told before, but at the same time in the realm or the zone of the relatability factor, keeping the larger audience in mind. I’m not really genre-specific in terms of my choices. They just need to resonate with me,” he shared, adding that he would like to do more of action and horror-comedy.
Further on, in the same interview, the Dream Girl actor expressed his happiness on being associated with movies like Andhadhun, Article 15, and others, which were later recreated in multiple southern Indian languages. He said that it’s a validation.
Khurrana also added that he was happy about it because he really looks up to the southern side of the country and the cinema they make. “Every region has a different tonality and a grammar of cinema and a different audience. It’s not as homogeneous as Hindi cinema which people consume from Kolkata to Rajasthan to Punjab. That was the kind of validation I’m looking for also at the same time, because I’m a huge fan of Malayalam cinema,” Khurrana said.
What’s next for Ayushmann Khurrana?
In 2022, the actor-singer starred in movies like Anek, Doctor G, and An Action Hero, some of which earned him praise from moviegoers. This year, he came up with the sequel to his 2019 film Dream Girl. In Dream Girl 2, actors like Ananya Panday, Paresh Rawal, Annu Kapoor, Rajpal Yadav, Vijay Raaz, Asrani, Abhishek Banerjee, Manjot Singh and Seema Pahwa were seen in supporting roles. In the coming year, he will be reportedly seen in the film titled Lovebirds.
