Small town stories appeal to Aparshakti Khurana

Aparshakti Khurana is revelling in the success of his Rs 100 crore film Stree with Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor, while brother Ayushmann Khurrana is raking in the accolades and the moolah with his film Badhaai Ho.

And obviously both of them are flooded with offers to work together in one film. “Of course, there are offers. In fact, we have even had narrations from three big production houses. We heard the narrations together, but it did not match what the two of us are looking for in a film that would star us together,” he says.

 Nothing purana for Khurana? “Yes,” he laughs. Aparshakti has already had a Rs 300 plus crore grosser with Dangal, in which he is the narrator and an important character. So, does he flaunt his Rs 300 crore success in front of his brother, who is also having a dream run at the box office? “Of course not,” he laughs, “Just like the way I am laughing; It’s a fun thing. But then Dangal was Aamir (Khan) sir’s film,” he smiles.

 Did the pressure of narrating Dangal weigh him down at the time? “No, in fact, it was the easiest part of the lot. I have been an RJ before and voiceovers are my forte. There was the pressure of doing a big budget film, but we never realised that it would be the biggest budget and the biggest grossing film of that year,” he points out.

 Apar is now filming for Luka Chhupi with Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon for producer Dinesh Vijan. He is also working on Jabariya Jodi with Sidharth Malhotra and Parineeti Chopra, in which he plays Pari’s onscreen love interest.  Like brother Ayushmann, he has been moving around small towns, from Gwalior to Mathura to Lucknow; small towns where these films are based. “India lives in the small towns. This is what the real India is. I come from Chandigarh, which was a small town during my childhood days. Small town stories are the ones that seem to connect with the audiences today, be it onscreen or off screen. People in big towns seem too engrossed in some strange things. Hence these real stories are the ones that seem to be working,” says the actor, reflecting on box office hits.

So, on one hand there are these real stories, and then there are stories with virtual effects. “Yes, the only difference is that these small-town stories are made in smaller budgets and seem to be doing better,” he reiterates.

— Sanskriti Media