Bollywood star Ayushmann Khurrana was the only Indian to be honoured at this year’s TIME 100 Impact Award. This is the second time in three years that the prestigious magazine is celebrating Ayushmann, who is known to be the most disruptive actor of Indian cinema today. TIME in its citation acknowledged that, “Ayushmann Khurrana Is a Bollywood Star Like No Other.”
At the global TIME 100 Impact Award last night, Ayushmann celebrated the Bhagavad Gita while delivering his acceptance speech. He said, “Before I begin, I would like to recite one of the verses from our Indian/Hindu scripture and guide - The Bhagavat Gita - Karmanye vadhikaraste, Ma Phaleshu Kadachana, Ma Karmaphalahetur bhurma, Te Sango Stvakarmani. This verse encapsulates the essence of selfless action. It emphasises to be process oriented than result oriented. It trains you to be detached from the fruits of your labour.”Ayushmann was proudly representing India at the prestigious global event. He says, “It is a humbling moment for me to be recognised as an artiste by the prestigious TIME Magazine! I’m here to represent India’s moment under the sun and I’m proud of the fact that india is becoming a fulcrum of progressive story telling through cinema.”
The star brought focus on India’s brilliant street theatre culture through his speech and how it shaped him as an artiste. Ayushmann says, “I was very active as a street theatre actor. What exactly is street theatre? It’s a very unique format of theatre, where actors in a group form a circle at a public place, call people to watch the act. And the act encapsulates the social fabric of our country. It’s either a satire or a firm call for social change.”He added, “Basically we were a group of indian buskers, who traveled the length and breadth of India during our late teens and early twenties, and formed a connect with the masses or the lowest common denominator. All I know is my awareness of the grassroot level of India has made me who I’m today. As they say more local you go, the more global is your reach.”Ayushmann has recently delivered his fifth 100 crore worldwide blockbuster, Dream Girl 2.