“Respect That You Get In The Movies Is Different From TV” – Ayushmann

There was competition from the likes of Arjun Kapoor, Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Malhotra in the year gone by. Didn’t that make you feel a little anxious?
The question is not about whether I get an award or not. What is important is that this is renaissance period for Indian cinema. The fact that so many of us youngsters have started making an impression is a good enough deal. Otherwise a couple of years back it was Ranbir Kapoor who made an impression par usse pehle kaun tha ye kisi ko yaad nahi.

Exactly nine months have gone by since the release of ‘Vicky Donor’. Have you settled down to the fact that Ayushmann of today has a different positioning in the industry than it was before the film’s release?
Ayushmann of today is very different from that of the days of television. See, TV is always a second fiddle to Indian cinema. You may be called the star of the masses par fact yeh hai ki TV hamesha peeche hi rahega, chahe kuch bhi keh lo. That’s what I feel and this is the reason why I am so very critical about every performance of mine. I want to grow with every film. You would see that in Nautanki Saala where I have acted, sung and composed better. Also, the kind of respect that you get here in the movies is different from TV. People have started respecting me more and are seeing me in a different light.

How about acting in a different light as well in films to come? Have you given a thought for yourself from the genre perspective?
In fact there is no plan. I am getting every kind of film and genre and whatever excites me most, I will go for it. It could be a commercial film or parallel cinema, I am fine with that. As I said, this is a golden age of cinema. We are seeing Dabangg 2 and Rowdy Rathore accepted along with Vicky Donor and Gangs of Wasseypur. In such plethora of opportunities, it would be stupid of me to say that main aise hi roles karoonga.

Joginder Tuteja tweets @tutejajoginder