Ayushmann Khurrana: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan was a happy film!

The happiest star-actor in Asia right now is  Ayushmann Khurrana. His  latest and riskiest release in a career  relying dangerously on  risks, has opened  to  a heartwarming response.  Ayushmann Khurrana  and I spoke as he headed from Lucknow  to the airport back home to Mumbai.

Exhausted  but  happy  he  said, “We didn’t want  Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan to be seen as just a gay love  story. Of course  it is  about two  men in love.  But  it  more about the family and how they react to  their son’s same-sex relationship.We didn’t want a heavy handed grim  treatment.We wanted it to be a popcorn entertainer  for  the whole family, a  family film. We  didn’t want anyone to  squirm  while watching. I think we  had achieved that.”

Ayushmann Khurrana  says he always  wants  his film to be different, bold game-changers but  nonetheless palatable to  the  entire family.  “I think I’d be  a  little  worried  if one of my  films was  given  an ‘A’ certificate without  warning. I thought my Article 15 was dark. But again it ended on  a hopeful note. With Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan we  knew we were making a happy film. That was  the mood.”

The  actor who has had a string of unbroken hits  for the past three years feels the winds  of change  blowing across  Indian cinema. “Ten or even  five years  ago, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan would not have been possible. The fact that  we  now have  audiences watching  this film favourably is reassuring.”

 Even more gratifying is the  fact that the censor board allowed the  kiss between Ayushmann and his co-star Jitendra Kumar  to  remain. “They realized it  was an important part  of  the film .It is the  only intimate  moment between the  couple. Kuch toh intimacy dikhani tthi(we had to show some intimacy somewhere).

How did  Ayushmann ’s wife Tahira react to  the kiss? “She was  very relaxed about  it.She saw  it for what  it was :  as an organic  part  of  the story . and not a gimmick. I think we’ve all come  a long way.”