When Ayushmann Khurrana was snubbed by Karan Johar for being ‘an outsider’
Excerpt from actor’s book has gone viral explaining his interaction with the director
In another blow to Karan Johar’s reputation, an excerpt from actor Ayushmann Khurrana’s 2015 book has revealed how the producer-director snubbed the former radio presenter when he wanted an audition.
Following the suicide of industry ‘outsider’ Sushant Singh Rajput, Johar has faced criticism for promoting elitism and nepotism in Bollywood.
In the now viral portion from ‘Cracking The Code: My Journey In Bollywood’, Khurrana recounts the 2007 incident where he interviewed Johar for the radio and confessed to him about his desire to have a movie career.
Khurrana asked for Johar’s number and the director gave him the contact details for his office. However, later when the acting hopeful called the landline number, things didn’t go according to plan.
“Karan gave me the landline number to his office when I met him. I should have taken a hint there and then. But I was so excited! I even planned exactly when I would make the call: sometime around 11.30am, so he’d be done with breakfast and available to talk,” Khurrana wrote, Hindustan Times reported.
“The next day I dialled the number he had given me. They said Karan wasn’t in office. The day after that I called again. They said he was busy. And finally, my bubble burst when, the subsequent day, they told me bluntly ‘We only work with stars, and can’t work with you’.”
In a twist of fate, Khurrana — now with many hit films under his belt — would end up being invited to Johar’s TV show ‘Koffee with Karan’ in 2018.
The actor didn’t miss the opportunity to bring up what happened back in 2007.
“You gave me a landline number. The next morning, when I called the number and asked to speak to Karan Johar, the person on the other line said, ‘We don’t audition outsiders and newcomers’ or something like that,” Khurrana said.
Johar’s response? “I gave you the right number. That was very sweet of me! I must’ve thought that you have potential.”
Khurrana has been a force to reckon with in Bollywood right from his debut film ‘Vicky Donor’ in 2012. He has starred in critically acclaimed movies such as ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’, ‘Andhadhun’ and ‘Article 15’.