Last seen in An Action Hero, Ayushmann Khurrana is known for pushing the envelope when it comes to film choices. While the actor has always showcased his love for Bollywood and Indian cinema, he recently expressed how thrilled he is to see that India has bagged three nominations at the forthcoming Oscars 2023. For the unversed, two Indian-made documentaries, namely All That Breathes and The Elephant Whisperers are nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film and Best Documentary Short respectively at Oscars. Along with them, RRR has been nominated for Best Original Song for ‘Naatu Naatu’ yet again after it won the Golden Globe in the same category.
Ayushmann Khurrana, who has been voted by the prestigious TIME Magazine as one of the Most Influential People in the World, spoke about the nominations recently. He said, “I have always firmly believed that India can disrupt the global content landscape with indigenous stories and by staying true to our culture and realities.” He continued, “The fact that we have three nominations at the Oscars this year with All That Breathes, The Elephant Whisperers and S.S. Rajamouli’s ‘Naatu Naatu’ from RRR shows that India can be a dominant player in shaping how the world views content emerging out of India and the impact it can have on the hearts and minds of people worldwide.”
About RRR and how it’s having an impact in the hearts and minds of people globally, Ayushmann added, “S.S. Rajamouli sir’s RRR has created a global celebration of India and its culture. ‘Naatu Naatu’ is a representation of all things Indian. I have always been inspired by great storytelling and this year’s Oscar nominations make me proud to be an Indian.”
He concluded, “My vision for Indian content is that we are able to have a cultural impact on audiences across the world and tell everyone about the abundance of talent that we boast of. It is truly a renaissance age for India and I’m blessed to be living in it.”
Talking about Oscars, ‘Naatu Naatu’ from RRR will compete against four other nominated songs – ‘Applause’ from Tell It Like A Woman (also starring Jacqueline Fernandez), Lady Gaga’s ‘Hold My Hand’ from Top Gun: Maverick, Rihanna’s ‘Lift Me Up’ from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and ‘This Is A Life’ from Everything Everywhere All At Once.
On the work front, Ayushmann Khurrana has the much-awaited Dream Girl 2, sequel to his blockbuster 2019 film, in the pipeline. The film, co-starring Ananya Pandey, will release on July 7, 2023.
