He chased his dream of becoming an actor and grabbed it right. After years working as a TV presenter, actor Ayushmann Khurrana is excited about his stint in Bollywood with a bold role of a professional sperm donor in the upcoming film Vicky Donor.
“I always wanted act. After years as an anchor and doing theatre, I was looking for a right opportunity to make it into Bollywood. Even though I saw myself essaying the role of a romantic hero in mainstream cinema, I’m happy to bag an unconventional role with an out-of-the box subject. I wanted to work in a film where subject was a king. Sperm donation is a common but a hush-hush topic amongst the Indian audience. I’m happy to be part of this film to spread the word about the concept openly.”
Directed by Shoojit Sircar and a debut production of actor John Abraham, Vicky Donar is a film about an average, jobless guy, who is unemployed, until one day Dr Chaddha (played by Anu Kapoor), suggests him to be a professional sperm donor.
When asked if he was apprehensive about the role or certain scenes in the film, Ayushmann said, “I think it’s a film made with great maturity. There is no cheap, frivolous humour that would make audience uncomfortable. Even romance is depicted beautifully in the movie. Shoojit is an incredible director and I’m really confident about the film.”
Ayushmann also conducted a survey amongst young students and older couples from various cities for their take on the topic of sperm donation. He shared. “I think people are taking the concept of sperm donation positively. As it has always been a secret topic of discussion, they are excited to see its execution on the big screen. Even older generations are also quite progressive and positive about sperm donation and are even willing to participate in it happily, if required in future.”
The movie is slated to release on April 20, 2012. Ayushmann is all praise for John Abraham, who helped him throughout the project.
“He used to treat me like a younger brother. He is a great actor and producer as well. He guided me about how I should project myself in the film industry.”
Ayushmann also confesses about donating sperms once. “It was a task given to me while I was a participant on Roadies in Allahabad in 2008. I believe in sperm donation and would happily donate if somebody will ask me or for a social cause.”
Being a successful anchor prior to acting, Ayushmann admitted that acting is not an easy task. He said, “It was tough and I don’t deny it. Where anchoring was talking to the camera, acting was all about ignoring the camera completely. But I think anchoring helped me bring that spontaneity into my acting. And also working with such an experienced actor like Anu Kapoor, who was also an anchor before turning an actor, was great. We used to create or sometimes improvise lines on the sets. It was fun,” he sums up.