Your last film with Bhoomi Pednekar was a hit. Who was your emotional anchor at that time I was staying alone in Mumbai. The kids will get better exposure and people here are less jud dgemental. I would look to the other side and say to myself, yaar Yash Raj toh mushkil hai, this (Balaji) is gettable. In fact, when they were in Chandigarh, my kids thought that I lived inside a television and only step out once in a while. Tomorrow, if I’m seen kissing on screen, people should not question my kids. Have you listed out any dos and don’ts for him He’s more practical and he behaves like the elder brother actually. There have been a few misses along the way but his work now is nothing short of the big time. 

That’s my zone and that makes me doubly excited.. Excerpts: You must have received many offers after Dum Laga Ke Haisha. After that film, I was iffy for 27 days but after that I was okay. I don’t expect much from life.When do you start Manmarziyan We start filming in January — in the cold. Overall, I am glad the low phase was brief. The film released on January 30 and Dum Laga Ke released on February 27. So I will be having a lot of fun!Sameer Sharma’s previous, Luv Shuv Tey round coupling nuts Manufacturers Chicken Khurana didn’t work. Did that make you sceptical I loved Luv Shuv — and how organically Sameer captured Punjab. 

On paper, Bewakoofiyan was a hit. Does it ever feel surreal to you, how far you have come You’re at YRF now. But were you reluctant about repeating the pair Actors have to reinvent themselves according to each film. Both Vicky Donor and Dum Laga Ke — two films that have worked well for me — had a very authentic setting. Were you extra careful while choosing the next script You see, sometimes the project is good but the script is not exciting. But I had expectations from Hawaizaada.Ayushmann Khurrana has never played it by the book. (‘I want fog’). So, he is pretty excited about it. I took to reading, I went for morning walks, and met my friends. He’s the only television anchor who has successfully managed to cross over to films. 

That’s possible in a city like Chandigarh but not in Mumbai. The script has to excite me — that’s my priority. I went for my next film Manmarziyan because I thought, I have never done a film based in Punjab. Even I’m playing an alpha male kind of guy, and not somebody who is trapped in his circumstances, like my character in my last film. But we overshot the budget and people didn’t buy into the fantasy we tried to show. You come here with certain dreams and aspirations and you expect something when you work so hard. 

My expectations were that minimal (laughs). Our cinema has only shown a very filmi Punjab. With this one, you’ll be seeing Bhoomi in a different mould. I have learnt that after seeing the pros and cons of both — an exciting project versus an exciting script. So I would like to work with directors who have a realistic approach. When Bewakoofiyan and Hawaizaada didn’t work, did you feel like you have lost your audience Technically, Bewakoofiyan was not a wrong career move. She has lost weight, she’s looking hot. I was getting to do a YRF film and that’s on every actor’s wishlist. Even Hawaizaada, on paper, was brilliant. I packed my bags and went back to my family in Chandigarh and I switched off my phone. Habib Faisal was the writer, we had Rishi Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor on board, Yash Raj producing it.. 

The setting and language is different. He says, ‘Mujhey dhundh chahiye’.. If you cannot learn from your mistakes, there is no point. There was a time when I would look at their board thinking one day, I’d do a TV show with them. The nuances in Luv Shuv — everything was spot on. It’s Punjab — my land. Ayushmann Khurrana Ayushmann Khurrana has never played it by the book. How are you finding the change The move was a conscious decision. He is doing a big film and has a good role in it. Forget Yash Raj, just across the road is the Balaji Telefilms office. It will be foggy and that’s what Sameer (Sameer Sharma, director) wants to capture in Punjab. So, when we caught up with him at the Yash Raj offices in Mumbai, the actor was in a rather jovial mood

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