Dum Laga Ke Haisha, the film known for bringing Ayushmann Khurrana critical acclaim and introducing Bhumi Pednekar to fans, recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary. Taking a trip down memory lane, Ayushmann Khurrana recently appeared in an exclusive IMDb segment, sharing insights into the making of the film, memorable BTS moments, and how the movie impacted his career and thought process as an actor.
Speaking about the scene where the characters Prem (essayed by Ayushmann Khurrana) and Sandhya (essayed by Bhumi Pednekar) met for the first time, Khurrana recalled, “It was one of the initial days of the shoot in Haridwar. I was working with these legendary actors, most from the National School of Drama, be it Seema Pahwa, Sanjay Mishra, Alka Amin. Probably after Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! it was Dum Laga Ke Haisha where all the characters were underlined and they had a specific tone and contributed to the narrative of the film. After Vicky Donor, the script that I was looking for was this and I was doubly sure of this film doing well because it was so different in terms of ideation and characterization. When I read the script, I told Sharat Katariya, the director, that I don’t have a single line in the first half. The perspective was the guy’s perspective. It was always Prem’s perspective but he was mostly silent. He tried to convince me that good actors do not necessarily need dialogues. Facial expressions are enough to express.”
Sharing about the significance of the film and its contribution to cinema, Khurrana mentioned, “Small town trend was started with Dum Laga Ke Haisha in the commercial realm, where there are many characters, and even the family is considered a hero. The nuances of small towns were used very well in the film.”
Discussing the scene where Prem tells Sandhya that anyone will be lucky to be with her, Khurrana revealed, “This is my favourite scene in the film. The idea of this scene came from Aditya Chopra sir, the legend. He mentioned that this scene should be there so the love story should be really flourishing towards the end and the climax. My character realises that he was wrong and he feels for the girl. Though he’s not confessed his love for Sandhya but he knows he was wrong and Sandhya is the real woman. His respect for her awakens. This was the only scene which was not shot in Haridwar, it was shot in Banganga, Walkeshwar.”
Recalling the experience of filming the scene where Prem had to carry Sandhya and run, he said, “When Bhumi’s character tells mine to stop her and she doesn’t want to leave, that’s the beginning of their love story. Climax is the beginning of the love story, which is so refreshing and beautiful. I was running 104 degrees fever while shooting this scene. My experience of Roadies helped me when I picked up Bhumi and began to run. After Dum Laga Ke Haisha, I was doubly sure that it’s the script and only the script which is the hero of a film. It started the trend of small town films touching the core lives of core India. After this, there was Bareilly Ki Barfi, Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, Badhaai Ho, Dream Girl, Bala. This was that clutter-breaking script after Vicky Donor which pushed my career further and helped me make more choices like these. Thank you to the film for reviving my career.”
