Ayushmann Khurrana in the recently-released film Meri Pyaari Bindu plays a writer of pulp fiction novels with quirky titles like Awara Dhoban and Chudail Ki Choli. But in reality, the actor, who has co-authored a book and is a columnist, hasn’t read any pulpy stuff. He says, “I grew up reading a lot on non-fiction pieces and I still do. Apart from that I used to read a lot of comics like Chacha Chaudhary, Billoo, Pinki, Chhotu-Lamboo, Motu-Patlu, Champak, Nagraj, and Super Commando Dhruv.”
The two main characters in the film are music lovers just like the two actors playing them are, in real life. Apart from the five original tracks, the film is full of many old songs. Ask him about the musical influences in his personal life, Ayushmaan says, “Parineeti was born in Ambala and I was born in Chandigarh. We come from Punjabi families that love singing retro songs. I’m so glad to meet a co-actor who could sing those songs of the yore with me… the songs of SD Burman, RD Burman, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Naushaad and Khayyam sahab, which sadly have become unknown to the current generation. Parineeti is a classically trained singer, whereas I’m not but my father plays the flute, so music is in my genes.” He also adds that the film is not a love story but a life story of two childhood friends.
He believes that times have changed as films today don’t have silver and golden jubilees, but he is happy with other changes that the industry has undergone. “If I had tried being an actor in the early 2000s, I couldn’t be one. There is less of nepotism now. Be it producers, directors, actors, today it is a level playing field out there. Also, films like Dum Laga Ke Haisha were used to be called parallel cinema in the 1980s and never made any money. But now such films do great business. So, I think, we are in the best phase of Indian cinema,” he signs off.
