Ayushmann Khurrana opens up on the box office failure of An Action Hero: ‘It really depends on timing’

Ayushmann Khurrana has broken his silence on the poor box office performance of his film An Action Hero. Also starring Jaideep Ahlawat, the film was helmed by debutant director Anirudh Iyer. Billed as slick actioner with an offbeat satirical sense of humour, the film followed an artist’s journey both in front of and behind the lens. In a new interview, Ayushmann opened up about the release and said that timing matters a lot for theatrical releases in the post-pandemic era. (Also read: Ayushmann Khurrana on how the debuts of Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh affected his career: ‘Ab mein kya karunga’)

About An Action Hero

An Action Hero released on December 2, 2022. In the movie, Ayushmann played Manav, an action hero on the run from Bhura Solanki (Jaideep), who wants to avenge the mysterious death of his brother. The film collected ₹16.24 cr at the worldwide box office. It released on Netflix India in January 2023.

Ayushmann on An Action Hero box office performance

In a new interview with news agency PTI, Ayushmann opened up about the box office performance of the film and said, “It really depends on timing. This is the best time, the theatricals are also back and I am glad mid-budget films are working. It is a great silver lining. I think it was a bad time then. An Action Hero got a lot of love later. I will keep on making these choices. I am sure theatricals will happen and we will do well.”

In an earlier interview with the same news agency during the release of the film, the actor had shared that the film had no social message. “It’s just pure thrill, entertainment. We have reels and everything on the (Insta)gram, on phones. So, the competition for theatrical release is not just from OTT, it’s from social media too,” he had said.

Ayushmann made his acting debut with Shoojit Sircar’s 2012 comedy Vicky Donor. He won a National Award for Best Actor for his performance in Sriram Raghavan’s Andhadhun (2018). He recently dropped his new single Raataan Kaaliyan, that is composed by his longtime collaborator Rochak Kohli. The actor will be next seen in the film Dream Girl 2 with Ananya Panday.