“There is conjecture about Salman Bhai and me having issues but wouldn’t your own mentor want you to fly with your own wings ?” Aayush Sharma On Somersaulting Out Of Salman’s Shadow

Aayush Sharma whose Ruslaan opened over the weekend, says he is making a concerted effort to make a career independent of his brother-in-law Salman Khan. “I always wanted to have an independent career.The intention never was to be a burden on the family and expect them to keep producing films for me. Films require funding and I never wanted to be keep pursuing my dream at cost of the family. I’m grateful for the opportunities being provided for me but unfortunately destiny had its own plans.Post my debut in Loveyatri I was doing a movie called Kwatha with my Ruslaan director Karan Butani. Unfortunately due to the problem with the producers the film got into legal mess and the movie never happened. While I was planning Kwatha Antim was being discussed. The moment Kwatha got shelved Antim came ahead which in turn cemented the public’s thought process that I only want to work with family.”

Last year Aayush opted out of Salman Khan’s Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan. He explains why. “While working on Antim Kisi Ka Bhai Kiski Ki Jaan was also being planned, which we all in the family collectively decided I would not be a part of post-Antim. There is a conjecture about Salman Bhai and me having issues but wouldn’t your own mentor want you to fly with your own wings ?

The surprisingly level-headed Aayush admits working independent of Salman was not an easy decision . “I do struggle to find takers in the industry, most of the time I struggle to find work outside because most want a collaboration with SKF(Salman Khan Films) to make their movies bankable. I would have been sitting on a steady seven films had I intended to keep using the SKF banner to advance my growth. Getting a movie like Ruslaan was a big deal for me. At least somebody trusted my work and gave me an opportunity to work in a movie minus the family name. I hope the narrative changes post Ruslaan and I can work with more directors and producers.”

Sadly , Ruslaan has not opened to heartening numbers . “It is disheartening, I won’t deny, but I am somewhat grateful to have done my best. I believe in putting my sweat and tears into a film. The rest I leave to God and audience. I hope they see the earnest hard work behind the film and support the film but if not, I take it as God’s decision to make me fight another round. As famously Rocky says “It ain’t about how hard you can hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much you can take and keep moving forward.” I’m happy that people see me mounting a whole film on my shoulders and the praise/criticism that will come will only help me grow.”

The action scenes seem to have taken a lot from Aayush. “Action has never been easy to be honest as much as audience think that there are enough safety protocols on set to make sure nobody gets hurt. Unfortunately, it’s not true when you’re making a film like Ruslaan, which is made on a very small budget. there are a compromises where certain protocols are not in place, but only the sheer hard work of stuntmanpull through the sequences. I’m only grateful that I had a team of people who really took all the punches to make me look grand on s Ruslaan happened while I was shooting for Antim. Producer Radha Mohan Sir approached me with the story idea. I really liked the narrative of the movie and felt the climax twist was completely unexpected. The story had scope for action and larger than life approach. For me personally it was fresh that the love interest of the film isn’t just an arm candy but an asset to the plot herself.”

Normally the enemy is shown to be Pakistan in all anti-terror action films.In Ruslaan it is China.

Says Aayush, “The nemesis being China was a fresh take for me. Usually stories are about saving the country, but here it was story of a man who wanted to prove his identity and in turn save the nation .All the movies I’ve done has only giving me many takeaways. Maybe the boy from Mandi Himachal Pradesh is just happy to be in front of the camera. Loveyatri gave me songs that became my identity whereas Antim gave me the popularity and credibility of being an actor. At this point it was very important for me to showcase what I can do as an actor rather than focusing on box office which isn’t in my control. Like others I do dream of a box office spinner but unfortunately that’s not in my handscreen.”

Aayush’s children enjoy watching him on screen. “My kids do watch my films. I love to see them dance to my songs and recreate my scenes. At this point they call me the lion which holds a lot of importance for me.”