Speaking at Democracy Wall, the actor-singer says he’s an apolitical person by choice, because an ‘artist should be a clean slate’.
New Delhi: From his very first movie, Vicky Donor, Ayushmann Khurana has broken the mould of the traditional Bollywood hero. Be it a sperm donor, a small-town video store owner (Dum Laga ke Haisha), or a man suffering from erectile dysfunction (Shubh Mangal Saavdhan), his filmography is all about ‘hat-ke’ roles within the genre of romance.
And the actor-singer believes it is the audience that is allowing Indian producers to move away from glamourising their leads, and making more niche cinema.
“I think it’s high time we represented that huge section, that huge chunk of our country (the working and labour class). Seventy per cent of India lives in villages, and cinema that represents that is more relatable,” he said.
Khurrana was in conversation with Chitleen K. Sethi, associate editor at ThePrint, at the ninth edition of Democracy Wall.
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Democracy Wall is a monthly free speech campus initiative organised by ThePrint in collaboration with Facebook. The event was held at Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar. Politicians Vijay Inder Singla and Bhagwant Mann, rapper Feyago, online safety expert Arnika Singh, and comedian Abijit Ganguly were the other speakers at the event.
On artistic responsibility
Khurrana began by talking about his artistry, and the role it plays in the course of history. “As an artist, you have a certain responsibility that history or the message (of the film) is spread across in the right way.”
He spoke then of the complexities that might arise out of choosing the right message: “We live in a pluralistic society and there are limitations to that. We can’t be radical…we have to tread the middle path.”
On politics
Asked about his personal politics, Khurrana maintained he was “apolitical”, espousing the same rhetoric as several of his Bollywood peers.
“I think as an artist you should be a clean slate,” he said. “It’s a conscious decision on my side to be apolitical. I am an actor and it is my duty to entertain.”
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On free speech
The audience asked him if there should be a limit to free speech. Khurrana replied: “Drawing the line depends on you and the person you are speaking to. You need to be sensitive, but at the same time others need to open up.
“As a nation we need to grow and give more opportunities for people to have free speech.”