Surreal moment for Ayushmann

Mumbai: It seems like life has come full circle for Ayushmann Khurrana. Back in 2003, he was a participant on the talent hunt India's Best Cinestars Ki Khoj, but didn't make it through the early rounds. In 2014, the actor will be seen as a mentor on the same show "When I had participated, I was rejected in the regional rounds itself," Ayushmann recounts. "So it's quite surreal that I'm on the show as a Bollywood buddy."

The actor also said, "I was this nerdy guy, thin, not the conventional 6-feet tall hero. The rest of the contestants from Chandigarh were all 6-feet plus!" So how did the actor handle the rejection? "I couldn't sleep the entire night because I wanted to be an actor. That was the most devastating day of my life," Ayushmann said.

"One should keep going, you should just tell yourself that every day is not the same and whatever happens, happens for the best,"he said. Ayushmann says that a lot has changed in the time since he first auditioned. "Things have changed. It's the golden era of Indian cinema and now anyone with a decent amount of talent can be an actor. The doors have opened up in that sense, and there isn't nepotism," he said.

He added that this was what made a show like Cinestars Ki Khoj a good platform in such a scenario. He says,"Success is yours when preparation meets opportunity, and that is what is offered by the show." The actor says he's excited about working with Sonali Bendre and Vijay Krishna Acharya, the judges, especially since he's previously worked with Sonali while she judged (and Ayushmann hosted) India's Got Talent.

It's not just his TV show, Ayushmann is also busy shooting for his films Hawaizaada and Dum Laga Ke Haisha. Soon after he will start working on John Abraham's next. But his most important "assignment" by far, is playing dad to his kids with wife Tahira. "Most of my friends are single," Ayushmann says. "I'm just learning how to be a father, but it's great."