MOVING from the world of Jubilee to the set of Stree 2 was an adjustment for Aparshakti Khurana, but it’s a challenge he welcomed.
The opportunity to engage with two vastly different projects in such a short span is something few actors experience so early in their careers.
Khurana, who made his film debut in 2016 with the blockbuster Dangal, quickly became known for his impeccable comic timing in films like Stree and Luka Chuppi.
By 2023, he had emerged as a breakout star in Vikramaditya Motwane's period drama series Jubilee, where he portrayed the humble Binod Das, who eventually transforms into the film star Madan Kumar.
With the commercial and critical success of Amar Kaushik's Stree 2 now under his belt, Khurana is pleased with the direction his career is taking.
"People spend their lives waiting to be part of projects like these. It happened so early for me in my career. And coming onto the set of Stree 2 after (Jubilee)...
"These are two different spaces, the storytelling, acting, the look, even the eyes, everything is different. Both these projects have given me a lot of good fortune and love. I am looking forward to Stree 3," the actor told PTI in an interview.
Stree 2, the latest title from producer Dinesh Vijan's ambitious horror comedy universe, takes off after the events of 2018's Stree where the ghost of a courtesan, who was wronged in her mortal life, comes back to Chanderi to help Vicky (Rajkummar Rao) and his friends fight a new mystical enemy called Sarkata.
The second part also stars Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, and Abhishek Banerjee. Vijan has already announced that they are moving ahead with Stree 3.
Khurana said it is thanks to Vijan, Kaushik and writer Niren Bhatt that most of the cast and crew that worked on the first film in the franchise returned for the sequel.
"It doesn't happen often that all people who were part of the first film in a franchise would be back for the second one bringing growth in their individual space. It is extremely amazing if that happens.
"But at the same time, there might be a problem putting them together again because all those people are returning along with their own journeys, successes, and growth."
The 36-year-old actor said the top brass on Stree 2 ensured everyone was "calm and composed" while working on the much anticipated second part.
"Even during narrations, (they would) keep everyone calm and composed so that we don't need to take the stress that we are making the second part, that we have to do numbers or that we are coming from our own journeys.
"The way we went into Stree was exactly the way we went into the first film. And the result is for everyone to see. There is this love and respect for each other. That friendship is there on and off the camera," he added.
One of the film's highlights is Khurana's character Bittu singing Soft Chitty, a hilarious Indian spin to the popular lullaby Soft Kitty, which features in the American series The Big Bang Theory. He sings the song to put his girlfriend Chitty (Anya Singh) to sleep.
The actor, who can more than carry a tune, said he was rolling with laughter when Bhatt told him about this song during the narration.
"I laughed so hard that my stomach started to hurt. Performing that scene was equally fun. And, when I watched it on screen, I laughed even more," he added.
Stree 2 is being praised for seamlessly blending laughs with scares and Khurana is happy that he got to add another layer to Bittu, who gets hypnotised by Sarkata and starts believing in supreme patriarchy.
"At one point, you are doing comedy and getting scared by the horror and then, suddenly, you go over to the other side. That's what made me extremely happy and excited about pulling this off. When my eyes go white, I think he becomes a different character that I had to catch on to playing. All in all, I'm happy how these layers have been accepted by the audience."
Next up for him is the espionage drama Berlin, which will see him play a sign language teacher who is entrusted with the job of interrogating a hearing and speech impaired man accused of being a spy.
"Berlin has received a great response at different film festivals. We hope the film will also be appreciated when it releases on ZEE5. This film didn't require me to pick up any dialect, but I had to learn sign language, which was one of my most favourite things to do in this film. Your filmography should boast of every kind of cinema. I'm lucky I'm getting to be part of such diverse projects."
Music has been a constant in the family, something that was passed on to him and his actor-brother Ayushmann Khurrana by their grandmother and father, who loved listening to Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi, and Manna Dey.
The first song he remembers listening to was Rafi's Madhuban Mein Radhika Nache Re from 1960's Kohinoor, starring Dilip Kumar and Meena Kumari.
When he was doing look tests for Jubilee, someone told Khurana his side profile resembled Dilip Kumar's, a similarity for which his grandmother had given him ₹11 (£0.10) as shagun years ago.
"At that time, I wondered who this Dilip sa'ab was because of whom I got these ₹11. But I was very happy that day."
The actor, whose latest song Zaroor is a rage on streaming apps, said he regrets not taking up training in classical music in childhood.
"It would have made me a more complete musician. But I recently picked up the harmonium and my daughter often joins me in the evenings." (PTI)
