Ayushmann Khurrana may have charmed and mesmerized an army of love deprived men in the first Dream Girl back in 2019 with her voice, but he’s literally in a drag for the sequel four years later. Pooja, the character he created, is now being chased by some new men along with the ones we saw in part one. The actor had eight consecutive hits between 2017 and 2020, but after a spate of some failures, this comedy promises to put him back to the pedestal. What are his expectations? What more can we expect from Dream Girl 2? He spills the beans on all in an exclusive interaction with Firstpost.

You recently made a reel with the original dream girl of Hindi cinema, Hema Malini. How was that experience for you?

It was a dream come true, it was so beautiful, she’s so graceful and her energy levels are crazy, I have mad respect for her. She’s 74 and look at her, that’s why she’s called the dream girl.

Annu Kapoor said in an interview for Dream Girl 1 that this film would make over Rs 170 crore at the box-office and his prediction was bang on. What are your expectations of the sequel?

Let me call him right away (smiles). I don’t know but the box-office prediction as off now is good, opening numbers and advance bookings look good so it looks like a healthy sign, the vibes are good. As far as the content is concerned, it’s a laugh-out-loud film, it’s a commercial, massy, fun film. It does justice to the first one and it’s a fun film as I said.

What is your take on back-to-back Bollywood hits and the anticipation of Dream Girl 2?

Yes, the curve is back, the tide has turned into the favour of the Hindi film industry. August 15 was the biggest day ever recorded in the history of commercial Hindi Cinema. I’m glad we are a part of that wave, people that are watching OMG 2 and Gadar 2 are also watching our promos at single screens, multiplexes and everywhere. They have been sending me messages and live videos of how they are reacting to the trailer and it’s a very positive sign.

Sperm donation, erectile dysfunction, caste politics, parents pregnancy, pre-mature balding. These are topics you explored in the mainstream space. And they began a conversation. Do you feel you have showed heroism in a more real, relatable manner?

I have. I had no option because I was always the unconventional actor. They all were unconventional subjects and I worked with a lot of amazing script writers and directors that were thinking out of the box and making clutter-breaking content. Talking about Dream Girl 2, there’s no message in the film, it’s fun, commercial, slapstick, massy film but it’s slight away from my filmography. It’s not a woke film but catering to a larger section of the audience.

What are some of the qualities of Pooja that you like?

She’s hotter than me and sometimes I’m jealous of her

What’s the one takeaway for you from the film?

The one takeaway is that if your co-actors are great, the film is great. I love working with great actors and great talent and it all starts from writing, Raj’s writing is brilliant in the film and that’s followed by his direction. Also, we have full women power in the team, right from Ekta Kapoor to Shobha Kapoor to Seema Pahwa, and I think it’s a great sign.