When Ayushmann Khurrana was asked to leave an audition even before he gave his shot: ‘They said aap jao…’

When Ayushmann Khurrana made his debut in Shoojit Sircar’s Vicky Donor ten years ago, he became an instant audience favourite but Ayushmann’s road to success wasn’t always smooth. The 37-year-old recently recounted an incident where he was asked to leave an audition, even before he could get his shot.
Ayushmann recalled that the incident happened almost 11-12 years ago and back then, the queues for auditions were not as long as they were in the later years. He explained that the auditions were held in a room, which was separate from the waiting room that held lots of aspiring actors. “Suddenly, within a year, there is this audition that I remember that everybody is sitting and you just give audition in front of everyone. I was shocked, I was like ‘what is this?’”

He continued, “They were like ‘apni lines padho, karo’. I told them ‘everybody will see, they will take my ideas.’ So if I improvised and I gave my own lines then the other person is going to take my lines and do it my way, I don’t want to do that. I asked them ‘how will you judge?’” Ayushmann was told that this is how it was, so he asked if he could audition at the end, when everyone was gone. “They said nahi aap jao.. Maine kaha theek hai. I said I am not going to give this audition,’ he said.

Ayushmann also recalled an incident where he auditioned for a small part in Imran Khan and Sonam Kapoor starrer 2010 film I Hate Luv Storys. But the film’s director Punit Malhotra told him that he was meant for greater things.
Ayushmann was already a popular television personality the time he made his debut in films and ten years later, the actor is credited with starting a new genre in the Hindi film industry. His upcoming films include Anek, Doctor G, and An Action Hero.