Ayushmann Khurrana recalls shocking casting couch experience: ‘I’ll give you lead role if you show me your tool’

Actor Ayushmann Khurrana has recounted a casting couch incident from his early days in the industry. The actor said that he ‘politely refused the offer’.

He told Pinkvilla in an interview, “A casting director had told me, ‘I’ll give you the lead role if you showed me your tool.’ I told him I’m straight and I politely refused his offer.” Ayushmann made his film debut in 2012, with Vicky Donor. He has since emerged as one of Hindi cinema’s most bankable stars, turning in hit film after hit film.

But it wasn’t always smooth sailing. Recalling his initial days in the industry, when he was an auditioning actor, he continued, “Initially, there used to be auditions where they would take your solo test. Then suddenly, the number started increasing and there would be 50 people in the same room. When I protested, they asked me to leave. So I have faced rejections.”

Ayushmann said that the rejection has made him more resilient. He continued, “Also, I’m well equipped to handle failure now because of the failures I saw at the very beginning of my career. Had I never witnessed the lows, I don’t think I would be able to handle it if it came now. Everything changes every Friday. I have just been lucky to have a few great Fridays in the last two-three years.”

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Ayushmann’s most recent release was Shubh Mangal Zyaada Saavdhan, in which he played a homosexual man. It was the latest in a string of hit films on social issues.

Also read: Rajeev Khandelwal shares casting couch horror with top director: ‘He asked me to go to his room which I refused’

Recently, several actors such as Rajeev Khandelwal, Isha Koppikar and Surveen Chawla have shared stories about inappropriate conduct in the industry.

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