Ayushmann Khurana reveals he wanted to give up on films and start a band

Actor Ayushmann Khurana was invited as a guest on the latest episode of Pinch 2, hosted by Arbaaz Khan. Going by the format of the show, Arbaaz read out loud the unpleasant and hurtful tweets by trolls, Ayushmann had responses for them laced with humour and wit and also addressed several topics, including breaking stereotypes, normalising the LGBTQ community in his films as well as his name for his wife Tahira Kashyap.

Arbaaz asked him if the actors being stereotyped was a good thing or bad to which Ayushmann replied, “Every actor has a staple zone. Tiger’s staple zone is action. Mine is doing slice-of-life films. Every film can’t be different, maybe one film I can do differently. If you keep trying something different, you’ll get exhausted. People are not looking for a different story, but a different you. No need to be so self-obsessed.” He further added that he did Article 15 and Andhadhun for himself but there are other films he does for the audience.

Arbaaz then proceeded to read the tweets that criticised his autobiography, calling him too young to write a book and saying it was 'averagely written' to which Ayushmann responded with “After my first film, I had three films flopping. I packed my bag and went to Chandigarh, and I had time so I wrote a book. It was a stage where nothing was working out. I had made a band, Ayushmann Bhava. I did concerts. I thought if nothing else worked out, I would perform on birthdays, I’ll do something to entertain. You just need to make it work somehow, as an artist.” He added that this was his personal journey, it was alright if people didn’t like to read the book.

When his relationship with his wife Tahira Kashyap was brought up, Arbaaz Khan asked him why Ayushmann used to call her Harish. Ayushmann answered, She’s a cancer survivor. So after chemotherapy, she began to have curly hair. So I started calling her Harish, because of the actor in the 90s. She had no idea about him as she never followed Bollywood in the 90s and was wondering why I called him Harish." to which Arbaaz interjected, “Harish Singh starred with Karisma Kapoor in Prem Quaidi,” and both of them complimented the songs of the film.

Trolls didn't leave a chance to attack him for being a fanboy of all the actors he's worked with, including Amitabh Bachchan. Ayushmann was rather touched when one troll called him 'immature but cute.'

Ayushmann Khurrana, who has acted in Shubh Mangal Savdhan and Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhan which dealt with sexual dysfunctions and LGBTQ love stories, had answers for trolls who attacked him for acting in such films. One troll wrote, “I’m a big fan of yours, but I’m not supporting you for this thought. We should not go against nature.” Ayushmann hits back, “What do you know about nature, everyone has a different one.” After reading some more harsh tweets, Ayushmann said, “Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhan for such people. They need to watch this.”

When Arbaaz asked Ayushmann what 'pinches' him about social media The actor replied, “When someone says something against family. Work is subjective. You have the right to like and dislike a character or a film, but it pinches when someone comments on the family.”

Ofcourse there weren't just trolls that tweeted, Ayushmann also got to read the Fans tweets where they praised his ‘hearty laugh’ and ‘genuine’ personality. In one segment of the show, Ayushmann had to answer ‘Ayushmann Bhava’ or ‘Ayushmann Khafa’. One fan wrote, “Oh damn you’re married.” Ayushmann replied, “Ayushmann bhava, I can’t say something more because I’ll be thrashed at home.”

Pinch streams weekly on Zee5.