Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana has been voted as one of the most influential people in the world by TIME magazine for his clutter-breaking, conversation starter social cinema. On the second anniversary of his blockbuster ‘Badhaai Ho’, about accidental pregnancy of an older couple who already have two grown-up children, Ayushmann revealed his intent in handpicking such films.
“I have been trying to normalise taboo conversations in India through my cinema. My choice of films, right from my debut ‘Vicky Donor’, you will notice that I have tried to do my bit to have a constructive conversation with society about the need for change,” says Ayushmann to The Daily Guardian.
He adds, “I have strongly felt that through cinema, we could tell society to widen its gaze towards important subjects that were not being addressed. We were a shy country, we still are and there is beauty to that but what I’m most happy about is how the people of my country have appreciated my style of cinema.”
Ayushmann, who has delivered eight hits in a row, says that the love of audiences towards his progressive, forward-thinking social entertainers have been hugely encouraging. He maintains that through ‘Badhaai Ho’ he wanted to highlight that physical love between parents shouldn’t be frowned upon.
“Their love is the biggest proof that our society wants to normalise deep-seated issues and that’s the biggest validation for me as an artist. With ‘Badhaai Ho’, I tried to normalise the sexual desires that our parents could have and there’s nothing wrong in that. For Bollywood, this storyline was rare but it was necessary,” he maintains.