The Front Row: Meet the Next Salman Khan

Here are three young actors who could make it big in Bollywood.

Ayushmann Khurrana, Sidharth Malhotra and Sushant Singh Rajput chat with Anupama Chopra on The Front Row. Here are edited excerpts of their conversation.

Anupama: The three of you are at that very exciting and precarious stage of your career: the second film. What do you think is key to being a hero today?

Ayushmann Khurrana: I think, maybe the definition of hero has changed a lot. I think he is just the key character. He can be positive, negative, he can have shades of grey. The hero is more of an actor now. We dwell in the golden age of Indian cinema where every kind of film is working, every kind of character is working. We have the commercial cinema heroes like Salman [Khan] in 'Dabangg,' Akshay [Kumar] in 'Rowdy Rathore' or Aamir [Khan] in Ghajini and we have a 'Vicky Donor,' 'Kai Po Che!,' 'Barfi,' 'Kahaani' and 'Paan Singh Tomar.'

So I think the line between parallel cinema and commercial cinema is getting blurred and the definition of hero is changing but the commercial Indian hero will always be there.

Anupama: Sushant, is there an archetype for the Hindi film hero anymore or can that character be absolutely anything?

Sushant Singh Rajput: I think he can be anything. He might not dance or sing songs. The first time I thought of being an actor was when I saw 'Gangs of New York' and I saw Daniel Day-Lewis in that. He played a two-minute role in 'Gandhi' in 1982 and he is one of the finest actors we have in the industry right now. So I don't believe in the term 'hero'.

Anupama Chopra: But do all of you look at a film like 'Rowdy Rathore,' 'Singham' or 'Dabangg' and think, 'I want to be play that guy'?

Sushant: No. The reason why I am a part of this industry is to do different roles and be convincing enough as a character. Like I am doing P.K. It is not a very big role but I am connected to the script and I want to add value to that as an actor. I read a quote somewhere that talks about success and I think stardom goes with it. It says that, 'Stardom is a very stupid teacher. It makes good actors believe that they don't make mistakes'. So I don't want to be a part of it.

Sidharth Malhotra: We have all grown up on the hero making an entry, hitting one person, five people flying all over. But I think today even the audience has changed. Everybody our age now looks for content. If something doesn't make sense to them, they criticize you for that. We got that in Student of the Year for certain things. Some of them really loved it but some of them said that 'Ok, it is a very fictitious world'.

Anupama: Nawazuddin Siddiqui said in an interview that: 'To become a Hindi film hero you need to be fair, 6-foot tall, you need to know how to dance, you need to know how to ride a horse, you need to have ripping muscles, you need to be able to fight but you don't need to know how to act.' Is that true?

Ayushmann: I think he is a star and that really proves that whatever he says is wrong. He is not right.

Sidharth Malhotra: Even my father said, 'You are planning to join films. Do you know how to ride a horse?'

I said 'No. I am doing a film called "Student Of The Year," why would I need to know how to ride a horse?' I think all of us are inclined towards preparing for the film. Maybe acquire a skill or change your look, whatever it takes be convincing as that character. If the film requires you to ride a horse, you should be able to ride a horse.

Anupama: What is the biggest challenge that you have today as actors?

Ayushmann: I think to do a character who you can't relate to. For me it was difficult because I was an anchor and anchoring was like talking to the camera and acting is like ignoring the camera. They are like two different crafts. So I had to unlearn first. Now I have played Vicky's character, and being a Punjabi really helped me. It was very easy and it came naturally. Even in 'Nautanki Saala,' I have done theatre in the past, and I am playing a theatre actor and director. In 'Hamara Bajaj,' I play a struggling actor and I was a struggling actor also. So thankfully, I am getting characters that I have experienced in the past. The tough part is to play a character who you can't relate to.

Sushant: I think for me it is choosing the right kind of script. If it is a good script, you are forced to think as an actor. There are clues in the script and I think it is something inside you that tells you 'Let's do it.'

Sidharth: I think it is the people you are working with. The director. You connect with the director, you have confidence in him that you know he is going to make something that makes sense and probably portray it the way he is saying it.

Anupama: As heroes, do you have any taboos? Is there anything you think you can't do? Could you do a film like 'Brokeback Mountain?'

Sushant: I would love to.

Sidharth: I think all of us are young and cool enough to do a script like that.

Ayushamnn: I really don't know. There is no plan in place. I started with a taboo subject like Vicky Donor.

Anupama: What is that one role that you would kill for?

Sushant: 'My Left Foot,' Daniel Day-Lewis. I can kill anybody for that role.

Sidharth: I am a big Shah Rukh Khan fan, I have seen all his films. But it is stupid of me to say that I wish I could go back and do 'Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa' better. It was amazing how SRK pulled off the grey in a very innocent way and a very energetic way.

Ayushmann: Aamir's character in 'Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar.' He was brilliant in that film.