8 groundbreaking Ayushmann Khurrana movies on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar

September 14, 2020, marks the 36th birthday of actor Ayushmann Khurrana, who has swiftly carved his niche as one of the most dynamic new-age actors in the industry. Marking the occasion, Khurrana's wife Tahira Kashyap Khurrana shared a celebratory post on Instagram: a snapshot of the actor with cake smeared all over his face, captioned, “Having my cake and eating it too!” The cute post received lots of love and birthday wishes for the actor from stars including Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Neha Dhupia and Angad Bedi, among many others. 

From his debut in the 2015, Vicky Donor, to his more recent projects like Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (2020), Ayushmann Khurrana has delivered several out-of-the-box performances over the years. Celebrating his versatility and understated charm on his birthday, we round up some of his most unconventional, must-watch performances below. 

Vicky Arora in Vicky Donor (2012) 

Hailing him the trophy for the best debutant actor in 2012, Vicky Donor sees Ayushmann Khurrana play the role of a vagabond who eventually finds himself as a regular sperm donor. When his newly found love discovers his secret profession, chaos unfolds for the protagonist, but teaches audiences an important lesson in the process. 

Streaming on Jio Cinema

Chirag Dubey in Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017)

In this romantic comedy, Khurrana takes on the role of a young man called Chirag with his own printing press. He writes a book titled Bareilly Ki Barfi based on his own heartbreak, under his friend Pritam Vidrohi's (Rajkummar Rao) name. When Bitti (Kriti Sanon), who is on a hunt to meet the author, meets Chirag, he pretends to play mediator, while slowly falling in love with her. 

Streaming on Netflix

Mudit Sharma in Shubh Mangal Saavdhan (2017)

Breaking the stigma around yet another societal issue, this rom-com sees Ayushmann Khurrana shed light on the topic of erectile dysfunction. From his unusual love story with Sugandha Joshi (Bhumi Pednekar) to the moment the couple finally face with the challenge of impotency, the movie shatters societal stereotypes one scene at a time, taking the issue of ED from taboo to dinner table conversation. 

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

Akash Saraf in Andhadhun (2018)

This black comedy thriller film portrays Ayushmann Khurrana as a professional piano player who fakes being blind in order to improve his piano skills. Somehow, he gets caught up in the midst of a murder mystery of a former film actor in the process. The nail-biting drama sees the star share screen space with a great cast including Tabu and Radhika Apte. 

Streaming on Netflix

Ayaan Ranjan in Article 15 (2019)

With Article 15, Ayushmann Khurrana used his acting chops to spotlight India's issue of casteism. Based on real-life events, this chilling crime drama centres around the story of the brutal murder of two teenage girls in a small village of Uttar Pradesh. Khurrana plays an ‘upper-caste’ IPS officer, and it is through his lens that we see the dark realities of the caste system faced by Dalit communities in the country. 

Streaming on Netflix

Balmukund ‘Bala’ Shukla in Bala (2019)

How far would you go to meet the world's unattainably high standards of beauty? Touching upon the themes of body image, (specifically hair loss and skin colour), Bala puts Ayushmann Khurrana in the shoes of Balmukund Shukla, a young man from Kanpur who sells fairness creams for a living, and is dealing with the issue of premature baldness. The film also sees Khurrana's popular contemporaries, Yami Gautam and Bhumi Pednekar, in lead roles. 

Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar

Karam Singh in Dream Girl (2019)

Attempting to break the stereotypes that come attached with different types of occupations, Dream Girl tells the story of a young man named Karan Singh who happens to find success working a night-time job at a call centre that employs women to chat with single men. The 2019 release sees Ayushmann Khurrana try his hand at cross-gender acting, making one lonely client after another fall in love with ‘Pooja’, his nightingale-voiced alter ego. But how will his father and new girlfriend react when the truth about his job comes out? Watch to find out. 

Streaming on Zee5

Baankey Rastogi in Gulabo Sitabo (2020)

Shoojit Sircar’s recent slice-of-life drama not only witnesses Ayushmann Khurrana sharing screen space with Amitabh Bachchan, but also sees him in an impeccably-delivered role of a miserly tenant caught up in a cat-and-mouse chase with his landlord (Bachchan). The comedy of errors shows both parties scheming to one-up each other from the get-go, and the sudden turn of events at the end is bound to put a smile on your face.

Streaming on Netflix

Also read:

Can Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan help to normalise queer relationships?

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