The year was 1988. Tezaab had just released. And people were waking up to a new star: Madhuri Dixit. A sweet girl from a middle-class family of nobodies, who had never dreamed that she would make it in Bollywood. But here she was, dancing away to Ek Do Teen, and unknowingly inspiring millions across India. One of them was a four-year-old boy called Ayushmann Khurrana, from another family of nobodies in Chandigarh. For Ayushmann, Tezaab played out in a dingy single-screen theatre where he sat between viewers who whistled, cheered and threw coins at the screen. Photo: R Burman In the balcony of this darkened hall, Ayushmann was mesmerised by the grandness of cinema. He grinned, looked at Madhuri all wide eyed and started making up a dream of his own. Today, at age 30, he is sitting in his plush dressing room. His spot boy is hovering with some fish preparation. His manager is lining up meetings for the next day. And he has written a book about his troubles and triumphs, a cheat sheet for stars in the making. Coming from a small city like Chandigarh and an unassuming family that valued education above all else, the struggle was as bad as it could get for Ayushmann. When I told my grandmother that I wanted to act, she slapped me. Thousands of aspiring actors, singers and dancers flock to Mumbai every year. Some to audition for film roles, some to participate in reality TV shows. Ayushmann was one of them in 2001. He was eliminated about seven weeks from the finale, and went back home to continue with college. And surprisingly went back home again! There was no dearth of talent in Mumbai, but there was a dearth of intelligent talent. He asked me not to skip my education. None of his Popstars and Roadies contemporaries stayed in the spotlight for too long. Still there were other challenges. He was scrawny, short and awkward. But the inspiration still came from Bollywood. So my hopes were really meagre. And then, I grew to five-nine-and-a-half! I was over the moon. I always knew that I had the talent, but height was a bit of a gamble. By now, he was a famous radio jockey with a Delhi radio station. Some said my eyebrows were too thick. You have to prove your mettle as an actor on TV or in some other medium. However, I was noticed in that audition but, to my surprise, by the Roadies team in Mumbai. I remember when I got a call from Mumbai I was attending a lecture and had to bury my head under the desk and take the call. I was super excited when I recognised a Mumbai number. After all, I wanted to be an actor. Raghu told me to think about it and get back to him. I told my group about my audition. They dissuaded me to such an extent that I almost dropped the thought of going to the audition. Balancing act In Cracking The Code, Ayushmann recalls moments of naiveté: he had tried calling Karan Johar for a role after meeting him briefly at an awards show. But I was so excited! Dharma of course turned him down, much to his disappointment. Dharma bluntly told him that they only worked with stars. Ayushmann, however, kept working. They were typecast as over-enthu over-actors. But someone was watching. Sircar was casting for Vicky Donor 2012 , his film about sperm donation, a subject so removed from masala Bollywood that two Bollywood stars had turned it down. I was hooked to Ayushmann at the first glance. What I liked about him was his friendliness with the camera. But not so cool that isko toh dur se hi dekho, dost mat banao. He even co-wrote, co-composed and sang the chartbuster, Paani Da Rang in Vicky Donor. The film became a sleeper hit. And so did Ayushmann. In with the new His first film set the tone for the kind of roles he would pick in the future. He was next seen in Nautanki Saala! Then in Bewakoofiyaan 2014 , he played a corporate-type who loses his job in a bad economy. He continues choosing films that are out of the ordinary. And the one after that, Dum Lagaa Ke Haisha , will see him as a helpless man who is forcefully married off to an obese girl. Most young actors will not want to talk about the movies that have made money; they talk about the movies that have given them credibility. On the contrary, he talks openly about the downside of stardom, his wife Tahira and his two children. We were totally clueless about how to react or respond to my sudden fame I just went along with the flow instead of trying to control it, leaving Tahira behind. It was not a conscious decision to revel in the newfound glory. After about twenty minutes of jostling into the flashing strobes did I realise that I was not holding the hand of the person I had come with. When I turned around frantically to look for her, I saw her standing just where I had left her, with tears welling up in her eyes. I felt so miserable. Irrfan Khan From: Jaipur, Rajasthan Struggle stories: After graduating from the National School of Drama, Khan struggled for over two decades working in television Chanakya, Chandrakanta, Banegi Apni Baat, etc and doing small roles in films like Salaam Bombay! She struggled as a model before moving to Mumbai. She then auditioned for the Bhatts and landed a three-film deal with them at the age of 17. Breakthrough: Fashion 2008 Nawazuddin Siddiqui From: Budhana, Uttar Pradesh Struggle story: He worked as a watchman in Delhi while auditioning for roles in theatre. He then graduated from National School of Drama in 1996 and played small parts like a waiter in Shool 1999 and a thief in Munnabhai MBBS 2003. Breakthrough: Kahaani 2012 Nimrat Kaur From: Pilani, Rajasthan Struggle story: After living in small towns like Bhatinda and Patiala, Kaur moved to Mumbai. She was discovered by Anurag Kashyap, and cast in his indie film Peddlers 2012. Breakthrough: The Lunchbox 2013 Randeep Hooda From: Rohtak, Haryana Struggle story: Hooda gave up a marketing job and started struggling as a model in Delhi. Breakthrough: Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 2011 Sushant Singh Rajput From: Patna, Bihar Struggle story: Rajput abandoned his engineering studies to pursue acting. Breakthrough: Kai Po Che!
