Koffee with Karan 6: Did You Know About Ayushmann Khurrana's Roadie Moment With Bhumi Pednekar On The Sets Of Dum Laga Ke Haisha?

On Sunday’s episode of Koffee With Karan, host Karan Johar began the show on a groovy note. He got his guests for the evening, actors Bhumi Pednekar and Rajkummar Rao, to dance to Chaiyya Chaiyya and recreate the steps from the iconic song from Dil Se. After they took their seats, Karan began the rather mellow 15th episode of the sixth season.

Karan asked Bhumi about becoming an actor and how she has played a small town girl in all her films so far. A fan even asked her when she will be seen as a rich girl in a film. Bhumi said people often get confused when they see her speaking English or looking slim and fashionable. However, she said she takes pride in the fact that she was able to sell herself in those rustic roles so well that people can’t separate her from her roles.

Karan also told the audience that Bhumi used to be assistant to casting director Shanoo Sharma before she got her big break. She worked at Yash Raj Films when she was 19 and she was asked to do a mock audition for Dum Laga Ke Haisha. She talked about how she did four scenes from the movie when she used to be 84 kgs and was cast for the role.

Talking to Rajkummar, Karan called him one of the finest actors of the country. He asked him if he is enjoying his newfound popularity and the glamour that it brings. He also asked Rajkummar if he will change now and start asking for insane amounts of money for a film. Rajkummar said he has never done a movie for the money. He said he fell in love with the craft and loves to play different people on screen. When asked if he is happy in his own space or if he would like to join the big league of actors such as Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor or Varun Dhawan, Rajkummar said he wants to be the artiste that does everything.

Bhumi said that while she wants to do everything as well, she would like to play the ‘rich girl’ roles in the future. “This show is gonna turn things around for me,” she said.

Karan then asked Rajkummar about his girlfriend and actor Patralekha and why they haven’t got married despite being together for eight years. “Mentally, I’m not ready to get married. We are in a very happy relationship and we are very happy about it. And our parents are not complaining, so there is no pressure to get married. And I think both of us are just busy in our respective careers. Marriage is, not that we don’t believe in it, just that right now we don’t think it’s the right time. It’s a mutual thing,” he said. Rajkummar and Patralekha have worked together in Citylights.

When asked if Patralekha gets insecure about him working with so many women on movies, Rajkummar said she has warned him about a few women that he must be wary of. “There have been times she has said, ‘Dekho, zara isse sambhal ke rehna’. She is a very broad-minded girl. She was brought up in Shillong. They have a spectacular culture. She is a Bong from Shillong. But, nothing serious as such. We are best friends actually. I think it’s a great thing when your partner is your best friend. You would love to come back home and spend all your wonderful time with your partner. You can share everything - you can have fun, dance, sing, go out to watch a film. It’s not about those lovey-dovey talks. It’s about discussing everything in life,” he said.

Karan asked them about their perspectives on nepotism. Bhumi said it never felt uncomfortable to her in social circles. “I have always felt wanted and my work has been appreciated. I go to these parties and people give me so much love. So it’s been pretty good for us,” she said. Rajkummar, however, felt that the acceptance came a little late. “LSD and Shahid worked well but there wasn’t really a lot of work. If I was an insider then maybe people would have pushed me. Giving two back-to-back successful films, I was still doing smaller parts in films like Wasseypur... People take time to notice you,” he said.

Also read: Koffee With Karan 6: Abhishek Bachchan, Shweta reveal what they hate about Aishwarya Rai, why their mum doesn’t like paparazzi

Bhumi said as an assistant to Shanoo, she has seen actors like Rajkummar, Ranveer Singh, Kriti Sanon, Disha Patani audition. Of them all, she thought Disha was a little ‘kaccha’ (raw) when she gave her audition. She was impressed by Parineeti Chopra, though. Karan then showed a clip of Bhumi’s audition. In it, she was reading Kareena Kapoor’s lines from Jab We Met.

Talking about her debut film, Dum Laga Ke Haisha, and how she played an overweight woman in it, she said she was almost 95 kgs in the movie and Ayushmann Khuranna had to lift her on his back and run in the climax scene. She said a stunt double was called but even he could not lift her up. At the end, Ayushmann did the scenes himself. “Roadie hai Ayushmann!,” she said.

In the rapid fire round, Bhumi said her guilty pleasure was looking at her before and after pictures and said she realised she was a star when people in Chambal recognised her as ‘Toilet ki Bhumi’. Said she wanted to work with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and that she has had crushes on co-workers. She didn’t reveal who she was talking about. She said she stalks Ameesha Patel online and finds Aditya Kapoor Roy cute. When asked whose boyfriend or husband she would like to steal, she said Priyanka Chopra because she has grown up listening to Nick Jonas and it would be nice to be with him.

On his turn, Rajkummar confessed that if he hadn’t been dating Patralekha, he would have liked to go on a date with Deepika Padukone. He even said that he had a crush on Aishwarya Rai when they were shooting for Fanney Khan. He said he wants to be paired with Alia in a film and dedicated Tareef Karu Kya Uski to Deepika. Bhumi won the hamper.