Ayushmann Versus Vicky Kaushal, And Ayushmann Has The Edge

2019’s  two National award winning ‘Best Actors’ Ayushmann Khurrana and Vicky Kaushal  are all set to lock horns at  the  boxoffice this Friday with  Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan and  Bhoot Part 1, respectively . Quite  comfortably Ayushmann has  the edge. Here’s why.

1.     Vicky goes  for  the  conventional format. A horror  film with creepy sound effects and creatures pouncing  out of  the dark…really,Mr Kaushal ,you are  not in touch with how far  the horror genre has gone across  the world.  Or is that Karan  Johar doing his  static tandav? Doesn’t stand a  Ghost of a  chance.Pun intended.

2.     Ayushmann’s film goes the  other way.  Its same-sex  theme  is  not only a game-changer and a ceiling breaker  it is just the  kind of cinema Ayushmann has come to be identified with. By the time Ayushmann will catch  hold  of his screen  partner Jitendra  Kumar and  smooch him on his  puckered  lips, that  glass ceiling will lie  shattered to the  ground.Aage aage dekho hota hai kya.

3.     Since Ayushmann and Vicky Kaushal won  the  National award jointly for  Andha Dhun and  Uri, the scale has  tilted in Ayushmann’s  favour.  Ayushmann has come to be identified with  quality work.Kaushal has not been  able to  build on the  fan-following that he  accrued after Uri. His stardom has  been  channelized into Page 3 linkups and   scandals regarding alleged substance abuse at  high-profile parties.Sadly he is  now seen as a Karan Johar  groupie. A pitfall Ayushmann  avoided. Better an artistic tramp than  belonging to a  camp.

4.     This  brings me to  the Karan  Johar factor. Vicky Kaushal  is too closely affiliated with  the Dharma  gang.Eralier  during his  Masaan and  Manmarziyan  days his strength was  his independent image  as  an  actor ready  to take  risks. With Bhoot he seems  to have  discovered an appetite  for  convenient mainstream  positioning. Bhoot is  a risk-free venture. Even if  it  is  mediocre  shiver  giver  it will get the audience that  it targets itself to.

5.     Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, on  the  other hand, is an out-and-out risk venture.  It is  bound  to raise eyebrows and ruffle  quite  a  few feathers . But Ayushmann is  ready to take on the challenge,stick his neck out in the real  yatra even if it means getting his neck chopped  off. In other words  he is ready to venture out in the dark and  doesn’t need Katrina  Kaif to walk with him.

Verdict: My choice is definitely Ayushmann Khurran and  Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan .As for Bhoot, Ram  Gopal Varma got there first.