Whatever I have to say I express through my poetry, music and films, says Ayushmann Khurrana

NEW DELHI: Expecting an artist to always stand up or speak out on issues is quite "naive", says actor Ayushmann Khurrana, who believes in expressing his thoughts through poetry, music, or films.

Khurrana, known for films as varied as “Vicky Donor”, “Andhadhun”, “Article 15”, "Bareilly Ki Barfi" and "Dum Laga Ke Haisha", was recently felicitated with the FICCI Young Leader’s Youth Icon honour along with Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra.

At the event, the 39-year-old actor talked about his position on activism and the role of an artist in society.

"I'm not an activist, I'm an actor and an artiste. Whatever I have to say, I say through my poetry, music or films. The expectation of people that an actor or an artist should always stand up and voice his or her opinion is very naive because more than IQ (intelligence quotient), we have EQ (emotional quotient).

"We deal with emotions, we sell emotions, we create emotions and that is our core job. But at the same time I try to do my best as a socially responsible leader," Ayushmann said.

As an actor, he has created a distinct identity for himself by tackling several social and taboo subjects through his films such as "Vicky Donor", "Dum Laga Ke Haisha", "Shubh Mangal Saavdhan" or "Bala".

The actor said he started his journey as a theatre actor, where he would pick up subjects or social issues that were not explored earlier.

"(We) used to always tread the road not taken. I had no option as an outsider. I had to break the clutter, espouse themes which were not done before, create something unique and palatable at the same time. So I think that was a big challenge.

"I think it is not fun if you don't take risks. With every story I would create something which is very different, which has never been achieved in Indian cinema before," he said.

ENTERTAINMENT NEWD