Ayushmann Khurrana: Missed my summer vacation with kids

Three hits and a National Award later, the man of the year Ayushmann Khurrana on taking a four-month break to 'reinvent' himself

A day after receiving the National Award medallion and certificate in Delhi, Ayushmann Khurrana has the perfect way to round off what has been a sterling year for him — he will head out on that long overdue holiday with family. "I have missed summer vacation with my children," he says, almost as if to suggest that stardom comes at a cost. But with three hits this year, the actor has earned his downtime. "I am on a four-month break. I am going to travel, and will wait to sign my next."

The cut-throat nature of the industry requires actors to be competitive and on-the-go. Does he not fear losing out on plum projects in the next four months? "I can afford to take a break because two of my films [Gulabo Sitabo, Shubh Mangal Zyaada Saavdhan] are ready. In 2019, I overworked and was guilty of ignoring my family. My approach towards life is to enjoy it. Reinvention is about living life and discovering something new, and that, in turn, will reflect in your cinema. At the moment, I am learning to read and write Urdu. Since I write poems, I want to be more well-versed with the language."

Khurrana with wife Tahira and kids

Such has been the success of his films — usually slice-of-life with an underlying social message — that they have become a sub-genre unto themselves. Ask him if he worries about overexposing the genre, and Khurrana says, "India is full of taboos and outlandish subjects, so there will be no dearth of stories. I started with Vicky Donor [2012], and now we call this the Ayushmann genre. When I was doing these films, I wasn't trying to create a genre. Now, there's a responsibility of delivering great movies. I may need to take a detour from it, but off-the-beaten-path films is what I do. I can't disown the genre. I am looking for an action film, but the subject has to be up my alley."

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