As inspiration for Dream Girl 2, Ayushmann Khurrana looked to Kamal Haasan in Chachi 420 and Govinda in Aunty No 1

The actor Ayushmann Khurrana stated on Tuesday that he has fought against the notion of “toxic masculinity” from the start of his career and is optimistic that his upcoming movie Dream Girl 2 would further the conversation. When Dream Girl 2’s teaser debuted, the actor was questioned about how Karan Johar’s most recent movie, Rocky Aur Rani Kii In Prem Kahaani, two men—the characters portrayed by Ranveer Singh and Tota Roy Choudhury—perform Kathak on the Devdas song Dola Re Dola, which also features Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Madhuri Dixit. This subverts gender norms.

On Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, Ayushmann Khurrana

Khurrana, who portrays a transgender person in Dream Girl 2, expressed his happiness at the audience’s acceptance of a movie like Rocky Aur Rani. “I’ve criticized toxic masculinity from the start. Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’s success makes me happy. They have laid a solid foundation for addressing toxic masculinity because our movie will take it a step further.

“It’s encouraging to see audiences embrace films with social messages or those that aim to challenge preconceptions. The actor informed reporters that the movie (Dream Girl 2) has a lot of humor in addition to its message.

Ayushmann discusses Dream Girl 2

Khurrana expressed his happiness at joining performers like Kamal Haasan, Govinda, and Kishore Kumar who have previously played women in various films. “You get inspiration from Govinda in Aunty No. 1 or Kamal Haasan sir in Chachi 420, respectively. This has been performed by numerous actors, including Kishore Kumar ji. Therefore, performers have the chance to play characters like this every ten years. With this movie (Dream Girl 2), which expresses a lot in a lighthearted, enjoyable way, I’m delighted I received it as well, he continued.

The actor starred in the 2019 comedy-drama Dream Girl, in which he played Karam, a man whose feminine voice imitation as Pooja attracts attention from others. Dream Girl 2 is a sequel to that film. Ananya Panday also appears in the sequel.

The upcoming movie, according to Khurrana, is a “true” sequel to Dream Girl, the original movie in the series. You’ll want to watch this following section as well after seeing the previous one, I believe. I felt compelled to do it after hearing the second part’s narration. It naturally follows Dream Girl. We have a diverse group of actors, and Ananya Panday adds a lot of value. There’s Abhishek Banerjee, Rajpal Yadav, and others,” he remarked.

Ananya Panday and Dream Girl 2’s director discuss the movie

Dream Girl 2 was directed by Dream Girl’s original director, Raaj Shaandilyaa. The director claimed that producing comedies takes time. “You must set aside time to produce comedic movies. Due to Covid-19, this movie was not released before it should have. There’s something that will happen next year, and I want to write a lot (of films,” Shaandilyaa continued.

Ananya Panday, the fresh addition to the sequel, expressed her enjoyment of the project. “I loved working with Ayushmann, but ‘Pooja’ was fun to work with as well. Ayushmann hasn’t received any advice from me regarding how to portray a woman. He taught me a lot, actually. I was astounded by him, she said.

Khurrana, who is also well recognized for socially conscious films like Article 15 and Badhaai Ho, claimed that Dream Girl 2 was his “most massy” production. “I’m fortunate to have had the chance to represent many characters and present various topics on film. Dream Girl 2 is exceptional. It is a widely enjoyed show.

This movie has a theatrical color scheme and is meant to be fun for the whole family. Dream Girl is the only one of my subject-based movies that appealed to both small towns and major cities, as opposed to the multiplexes where most of my other movies are aimed.

Annu Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, Vijay Raaz, Manoj Joshi, Rajpal Yadav, Seema Pahwa, Manjot Singh, and Abhishek Banerjee all appear in Dream Girl 2. The movie, supported by Balaji Motion Pictures, will open in theaters on August 25.