If the promos of Meri Pyaari Bindu are anything to go by, Ayushmann Khurrana has nailed the Bengali boy act in the Yash Raj tale that releases on May 12. The Akshay Roy film, set and shot in Calcutta, has Ayushmann as Abhimanyu Roy, a writer of horror fiction who falls in love with his neighbour Bindu, played by Parineeti Chopra. A t2 chat with the “aadha Bengali” Ayushmann who wants to settle in Calcutta! 

You had said during the making of Meri Pyaari Bindu that you had become “aadha Bengali”. Have you become full Bengali by now?
(Laughs) I would love to become full Bengali, if given a chance! It’s just that I am an actor and I have to play different roles on screen and really can’t afford to. But honestly, I feel that there is a Bengali touch in me, for sure. I have become a huge fan of Rabindrasangeet over the last one year. In fact, in my new house, I would really want to install a life-sized portrait of Rabindranath Tagore. I discovered Tagore when we were shooting for Meri Pyaari Bindu and he’s been a major influence on me, through his poetry and his songs, since then. So yes, in that sense, I have become quite a Bengali! (Laughs) 

Meri Pyaari Bindu seems unlike any love story we have seen in recent times. Is that what hooked you, given you have already done hatke love stories like Vicky Donor and Dum Laga Ke Haisha?
Yes, Bindu is not a typical love story. It’s the journey of these two characters — Abhimanyu and Bindu — and how their friendship becomes love through the years. If you remember the first promo of the film, the one that’s called ‘Samosa and Chutney’, you will remember that it shows only two kids — the miniature versions of Abhimanyu and Bindu — and the film grows from there… it’s about their relationship from age five to 35. It shows their love, their fights, their adulthood, childhood, teenage, everything! That’s not really the way most of our love stories play out. This film captures so many emotions, apart from love, and that’s what people are looking forward to.  

We know that Abhimanyu Roy is a Bengali who writes horror stories and loves his neighbour Bindu and their love story plays out through mix tapes. What is Abhimanyu like and was there a point where Abhimanyu and Ayushmann meet?
There are many, many similarities. Abhimanyu is very vulnerable emotionally and I was also very vulnerable as a teenager. Abhimanyu is naive and emotional and that’s how I was when I was growing up. Abhimanyu loves retro music and so do I… I love it! So 10 years back, I was like Abhimanyu Roy. I have evolved both mentally and emotionally, but Abhimanyu is still an emotional fool. But more often than not, there will be instances in the film where Abhimanyu and Ayushmann will seem to be the same person. 

What kind of preparation went into playing Abhimanyu because you look and sound very Bengali in the promos...
There was quite a bit of prep as far as mastering the language is concerned. Parineeti plays a Tamilian and I play a Bengali and the interactions between us happen in Hindi. However, with my parents in the film (played by our Tolly-telly stars Aparajita Adhya and Rajatava Dutta), I have to speak quite a few words in Bengali. I had this coach, Professor Mitra, from Delhi. Apart from that, Shamaun Ahmed from Calcutta helped me a lot. He’s not Bengali, but he’s done a lot of Bengali films and Bengali television. He helped me a lot with the language and the nuances. 

Do you remember some of the Bengali you spoke in the film?
Hmmm, kind of! (Laughs) Like, ‘Sovabazar-er Bindu Shankar Narayan sombondhe eta bola jete pare…. (long pause) Oh god, I can’t remember anymore! (Laughs) 
   
That was quite good! So what was it like shooting in Calcutta and how much do you feel the city adds to the tone and texture of the film?
What I love about Calcutta, and I can’t say enough of this, is that you feel there are two different cities in one city. One side is like what you see on Saturday nights… Park Street bright and vibrant, people partying and having a good time… the city’s young set living it up. The other side is north Calcutta… laid-back and serene… the stunning architecture that has so much character and culture. There is a unique British touch in Calcutta, I feel. The city is culturally so rich and the kind of visuals that Calcutta has provided to our film has just made every frame amazing. And, of course, the food in your city… I love it! When I am in Calcutta, I constantly keep looking for new places to eat at.

So what would you do for a plate of your favourite Chelo Kebab now?
(Laughs out loud) I can only fantasise, sadly! I just love the Chelo Kebab from Peter Cat… it’s not something I can even articulate in words! I also love the sweets from Balaram Mullick. I am someone who lives to eat and Calcutta is a place where the foodie in me goes out of control completely. Another big reason why I need to turn Bengali and settle in Calcutta! (Laughs)

Coming back to Meri Pyaari Bindu, your chemistry with Parineeti is very fresh. Did you guys have to work on it or did it happen organically?
It happened very organically because when we met, we realised that the two of us are very similar… in our tastes for food, for music… Our upbringing is also very similar… I am from Chandigarh, she’s from Ambala. Both of us are from Punjabi families and we have both grown up listening to old Bollywood songs. I am a total music geek because I have been a part of the radio industry as well. Pari has also been singing all her life… she’s trained in classical music. We bonded over music from the first day and that’s exactly what our film is also about. The casting is so perfect for this film, even if I say so myself. The two of us really didn’t have to work very hard to become Abhimanyu and Bindu.   

You’ve made some interesting choices in your career, many of which have paid off. Would you say Meri Pyaari Bindu is a step in that direction?
I think most of my choices have been off-centre… even this film is slightly off-centre. Though I play a young and contemporary writer growing up in cosmopolitan Calcutta, there’s something about Abhimanyu that doesn’t make him the regular boy next door, though the atmosphere and set-up he grows up in is very conventional. He is a writer, but of a different kind… he writes horror pulp fiction. His love for Bindu is not conventional… there are many things that define their relationship, love is just one of them.  

This is the first year when you have as many as three films. After Meri Pyaari Bindu, there’s Shubh Mangal Saavdhan (with Bhumi Pednekar) and Bareilly ki Barfi (with Rajkummar Rao-Kriti Sanon). Is that exciting or nerve-wracking or a mix of both?
Yes, it’s the first time it’s happening with me. I am used to having one film a year… I am a very laid-back person (laughs). But then, I haven’t had a release in two years. So I am looking at these three back-to-back releases as a sort of compensation for the two years I didn’t have a film (laughs). It’s kind of exciting and I am glad I have three very unique films coming up this year.

Your brother Aparshakti made quite a splash on debut in Dangal. Any chances of seeing the Khurrana brothers in a film together?
You know, I would love to do a film with him. We are getting a lot of offers to do films together, but we don’t want to do something for the heck of it. It should be something that interests both of us. We are waiting… I really want to collaborate with him. 

Finally, have you watched Bahubali 2?
(Laughs) No… in fact, I haven’t even seen the first part! 

So, no interest in knowing why Katappa killed Bahubali?! 
That’s become quite a talking point, hasn’t it?! (Laughs) But I am glad that our trailer is playing with Bahubali. The film is getting unprecedented footfalls and I am glad because the more people watch Bahubali, the more they get to watch our trailer! (Laughs) So, it’s a win-win for us too!

Priyanka Roy
The Calcutta food stops I would recommend to Ayushmann are.... Tell t2@abp.in