Bala turns 1: Ayushmann Khurrana wanted to bust 'stereotyped notions of beauty' with film

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The Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer Bala had released on this day a year ago, and the actor says he wanted to tell people to love themselves through the film, because everyone is special and unique. The Amar Kaushik directorial also starred Bhumi Pednekar and Yami Gautam. The narrative discussed premature balding among men and the taboo associated with dark complexion in India.

"With 'Bala', I wanted to normalise the fact that perfection is a human-made myth, and it creates immense discrimination that breaks hearts and families. Through this film I wanted to tell people to love themselves because everyone is special and unique in their own way. I wanted to tell everyone to not fall prey to stereotyped notions of beauty because that has divided people," Ayushmann said.

"I tried to tell people how counterproductive the pursuit of this so-called perfection is, and I was happy that audiences showered our film with so much love," he added.

Ayushmann is all praise for director Kaushik and producer Dinesh Vijan, because he feels the team was committed to bring about a positive change in society.

"I must credit my director, Amar Kaushik, for his brilliant and sensitive vision to make a truly clutter-breaking content film that was also immensely entertaining at its core because of the inherent social satire. I must also thank my producer Dinesh Vijan, who has shown his penchant to back content that stands out. 'Bala' was a brave film and it wouldn't have been possible without a strong-willed producer like Dinesh," said the actor.

Ayushmann always aims at leaving a social message through his entertaining films. Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan dealt with same-sex relationship while Article 15 touched upon caste politics.

"When you set out to change perceptions and beliefs, you will need to trigger a dialogue, you will need to start a debate. I have strongly believed that constructive conversation can help us improve society at large. My films have tried to do just that and I'm extremely proud of my body of work," said Ayushmann.

"Films can be a true mirror to society and through my films, I constantly try to bring focus on matters that needs society's attention. I would like to believe that I can do my bit to normalise issues and ask people to rethink on the preconceived notions about our world. I would want to shatter as many stereotypes as possible and there is a lot of work to be done," he added.