Ayushmann Khurrana Birthday Special: 7 Movies That Endeared the National Award Winning Actor In Our Hearts

This year should be quite special for Ayushmann Khurrana, the birthday boy, who turns 35 on September 14, 1984. He already has a critically acclaimed hit this year in Article 15, a socially relevant film, that continues to win more appreciation on Netflix, where it is presently streaming. His latest film, Dream Girl, has already won the critics and is all set the continue the hit streak that the actor has been enjoying since 2017's Bareilly Ki Barfi. But that's not the only thing that makes 2019 so special for Ayushmann. Dream Girl Movie Review: Ayushmann Khurrana Is at His Hilarious Best in the Funniest Film in Recent Times.

He also won his first National Award for the Best Actor for his performance in AndhaDhun, an honour that he shares with Vicky Kaushal (for Uri: The Surgical Strike). Well, who thought that an MTV Roadies winner would be considered as one of the best actors in the country! But since his stint with the MTV channel, we knew that this former VJ, who is also a good singer, is meant for bigger things in life. And now he is considered one of the safest bets at the box office, someone who is considered as a genre in himself. Ayushmann Khurrana Calls Wife Tahira Kashyap His Dream Girl As They Pose Together (View Pic),

On the occasion of his birthday, we look at seven characters and performances that had endeared Ayushmann to us (PS: Dream Girl has just been released so let's give it some time to simmer in our memories).

Vicky Donor

Ayushmann's first movie as an actor itself gave a hint as to how his filmography would look like. Very few debutants would have dared to take on a role in a mainstream about a youngster whose career involves donating his semen for money. Ayushmann not only took the risk but also managed to make the characteristic nothing out of blue. Also, he managed to win more fans with his rendition of "Paani Da Rang".

Dum Laga Ke Haisha

The movie that gave us Bhumi Pednekar, Dum Laga Ke Haisha was the sleeper hit of the year. Directed by Habib Faisal, the movie is nothing like the cosmetic love stories churned out by Bollywood, but is sweetly realistic. While Ayushmann's character comes off as unlikeable in the start, he basically represents the shallowness in every one of us. That's why the volte-face towards the end comes off as so endearing.

Bareilly Ki Barfi

Sure, it was Rajkummar Rao who turned out to be the scene-stealer in the small-town romcom. But Ayushmann has to be appreciated for taking on the more despicable role of a bully, who manipulated his meek friend to further his fascination for a girl. In the end, he realises his mistakes and changes for good.

Shubh Mangal Saavdhan

If Ayushmann played a virile young man in Vicky Donor, then here he plays an engaged youngster suffering from 'performance issues'. Another risky role that no alpha male in Bollywood wold think twice when offered, Ayushmann not only managed to take that risk but played off well at the box office too. Now in the sequel, Shubh Mangal Zyaada Saavdhan, he is all set to romance a male actor. Now that even more risk-taking.

Andhadhun

The role that gave Ayushmann a National Award (for the Best Actor). Ayushmann plays a piano player who pretends to be blind in front of others so that he can get into the true essence of music. This quirk of his lands him in trouble when he is caught right in the middle of a murder coverup scene. Ayushmann may have played flawed characters before, but there are some deliciously devilish turns that his character takes in this Sriram Raghavan film, the worst being what that cliffhanger of an ending suggests. AndhaDhun Movie Review: Ayushmann Khurrana Matches Up To A Terrific Tabu in Sriram Raghavan's Darkly Humorous Thriller.

Badhaai Ho

In one of the most likeable entertainers to grace our screens, Ayushmann plays a young man who has to deal with the fact that his elderly parents are expecting. His initial reluctance to accept the fact that he might have an infant sibling to his gradual reconciliation with his parents make for some really lovely, light-hearted and emotional drama.

Article 15

... aka the film of the year. To be honest, when I saw the trailer of this Anubhav Sinha film, I thought Ayushmann didn't have it in him to pull off a cop role. I was both right and wrong, and that's the beauty of what Ayushmann did with the role. He is like a fish out of the water, trying to clean up the place where he has landed, even though everything around him stands against what he has been taught. Even though he is a cop, there is not a single scene where he has to resort to fisticuffs to get his point made, instead let his values and ideals do the rest.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 14, 2019 12:21 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).