MUMBAI: A decade ago, Dum Laga Ke Haisha won hearts and created waves across the industry with its soulful storytelling, nostalgic charm, and an unconventional yet deeply moving love story. The film, which marked a turning point in Hindi cinema, also cemented Ayushmann Khurrana’s reputation as an actor who champions disruptive storytelling and seeks out real and rooted narratives.
Directed by Sharat Katariya and produced by Yash Raj Films, the film also bagged the prestigious National Film Award for Best Hindi Feature Film. Ayushmann burst onto the Bollywood scene with a brilliant hit debut with Vicky Donor. However, due to lack of advice and industry knowledge, he made some incorrect judgement calls resulting in a dry patch at the box office. Thus, on the eve of Dum Laga Ke Haisha, he was a nervous wreck as it became a make or a break film for him.
Ayushmann says, “I remember being sleepless for many, many days ahead of Dum Laga Ke Haisha’s release date. My career saw a meteoric rise with Vicky Donor. Overnight, people were calling me a star who was born. I couldn’t process this. I was not from the industry. I had no playbook to follow on how to deal with the attention. I had no strategy to follow up on the success of my debut film. I made mistakes, many mistakes.”
He adds, “I remember I had three flops before Dum Laga Ke Haisha. The industry is a brutal place. We are born every Friday and our obituaries are written every Friday. I wanted to own my Friday so badly. So, you can imagine the headspace I was in before Dum Laga Ke Haisha’s release. I was an emotional wreck. I was anxious. I was nervous. Then the film released, and the rest is history! It gave me a fresh lease of life in the industry, and thankfully I have never looked back, using all the learnings from Dum Laga Ke Haisha to create a genre of quirky, feel-good, disruptive, content-forward films that delivered a beautiful message to the family audience.”
He further says, “A huge thanks to the entire team of Dum Laga Ke Haisha - Maneesh Sharma & Sharat Katariya who had an unmatched vision for this film, my amazing co-star - Bhumi Pednekar, who was the perfect partner to present the story of Prem & Sandhya on screen and Aditya Chopra sir, who's belief in me has never wavered.”
As the film marks its ten-year anniversary today, Ayushmann took to social media as he also penned an emotional heartfelt note to his 10-year younger self, talking about how anxious and nervous he was pre-release. He wrote, “Slow down you crazy child. You will be fine. You will see the vagaries of life, the ups and the downs and you will emerge stronger. Your bigger plan should be a complete hush. There’s absolutely no rush. The goal is not to only look at scoring a hit. There is a far bigger plan. Calm the hard core hustler in you and be the true artiste that you always aspired to be. Look up to the universe and be thankful for the life you have, for this moment, for being able to chase the dream of being an actor. Don’t be anxious. Everything will turn out to be ok. Dum Laga Ke Haisha, this small film with a big heart, is going to touch the lives & hearts of countless people across India and tell everyone to fall in love again. Please be true to your roots and true to your gut. You are God’s favourite child. Slow down you crazy child. ❤️”
Celebrating this pop-culture cult hit which paved the way for him to deliver seven back to back blockbusters, Ayushmann says, “Celebrating 10 years of Dum Laga Ke Haisha feels almost surreal. When I first signed on to play Prem Prakash, I didn’t realize how deeply this simple love story would resonate with so many. In an industry often dominated by formulaic characters, here was a film that dared to be different, one that broke barriers of body image, self-worth, and love itself.”
He adds, “The success of the film also reassured me that an honest, unique story—one that finds heroism in the most unexpected places—can captivate audiences. I’ve always believed that if a film is great, it will find its audience, and I’ve continued to follow that belief with every script I choose. Dum Laga Ke Haisha was a big lesson in that. Looking forward, I will always be disruptive. That’s my calling card, a very unique calling card that is true to who I am as a human being and as an artist.”
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