Pati Patni Aur Woh Do: Why Ayushmann Khurrana chucks comment, bets on all-out fun

Ayushmann Khurrana's Pati Patni Aur Woh Do is the actor's self-confessed move away from his strategy of social messaging in films. Understanding why he swapped comment for comedy this time.

In Short

• Pati Patni Aur Woh Do marks a shift for Ayushmann from issue-driven films
• Karan Johar, Sooraj Barjatya among producers he is currently working with
• In films of 2010s, he often successfully blended humour with taboo subjects

Ayushmann Khurrana is Prajapati Pandey in Pati Patni Aur Woh Do, juggling chaos involving three women and a marriage that threatens to come crashing. The character sweats and stammers as he tries to overcome the madness that an author-backed comedy of errors accords. Yet, he only keeps digging deeper into disaster.

It's the Ayushmann Khurrana from numerous films, yet not really. While he's still the harmless, decent North Indian male caught in a bind, the intent this time is different. Ayushmann isn't playing the fallible hero to drive home a social message as he normally does. He's doing so with the sheer intent of celebrating over-the-top mainstream entertainment.

With Pati Patni Aur Woh Do, Ayushmann weaponises the one thing Bollywood has rarely allowed him so far: silliness.

That's ironic, actually. At a time most stars are trying to stuff a social message or two in commercial packages they peddle, Bollywood's go-to guy for projects that edify and entertain at the same time is looking the other way.

Over 14 years since his debut film Vicky Donor, Bollywood fans knew exactly what an “Ayushmann Khurrana film” meant. It was about a guy who's often caught in awkward situations, yes, but it was also about a narrative expected to start a conversation, with subjects that often bordered on taboo but carefully wrapped with middle-class humour.

You entered the theatre expecting to laugh, but also expecting to emerge slightly more aware. Sperm donation, erectile dysfunction, caste discrimination, body shaming, colourism, sexual orientation – Ayushmann's films and roles practically incorporated every social anxiety into the film genre associated with his name.

But Pati Patni Aur Woh Do arrives from a different space. The film does not want to start a discussion. It just wants you to have fun.

Ayushmann, on his part, has said the move is intentional. "This is not a message-oriented film; it’s pure comedy," the actor told India Today in a recent interview, adding that while he earlier chose subjects that started conversations, he wanted this film to work as an all-out entertainer for the masses.

Mission Multiplex in the 2010s

That one quote says something about where Ayushmann currently finds himself. For a while now, the audience has admired Ayushmann Khurrana more than they have celebrated him. That distinction matters in money-minded Bollywood.

Through his films in the 2010s, Ayushmann pulled off something remarkable. It was 'Mission Multiplex' for the actor back in the era when his works felt progressive without seeming heavy to urban middle-class India. Vicky Donor in 2012, for instance, announced the arrival of a refreshingly original mainstream actor.

Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015) spoke about body image and emotional insecurity with warmth instead of either self-righteousness or political incorrectness. Shubh Mangal Saavdhan in 2017 transformed erectile dysfunction into family comedy gold. Badhaai Ho, released a year later, somehow made middle-age pregnancy both hilarious and touching.

Then there were films like Article 15 and Bala in 2019, where Ayushmann’s image as a socially-conscious entertainer solidified itself. Even Dream Girl, released the same year, had observations tucked beneath the slapstick quotient – about loneliness and masculinity.

At his peak, Ayushmann occupied a space no one else quite did. He was commercial but clever, mainstream but meaningful. Alt-entertainment in Bollywood found its mascot.

A departure from Ayushmann's socially-conscious run of the 2010s was Andhadhun. Sriram Raghavan’s wickedly inventive thriller worked not because it carried a pressing message but because it allowed the actor to disappear into pure genre celebration. Notably, the 2018 film remains Ayushmann's biggest grosser per Sacnilk, having raked in over Rs 438 crore globally. If Ayushmann needed a nudge that it sometimes pays big (literally) to leave behind didactic vibes and just have fun, Andhadhun was that experience.

The actor, however, returned to his chosen path of mixing comment with entertainment after Andhadhun. And the formula began eating itself. Somewhere after Dream Girl, Ayushmann's films had started carrying the burden of expectation. People literally walked into theatres wondering, “Okay, what social issue are we solving this time?”

When the impact started slowing down

Worse, some of the films stopped being entertaining enough. Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan in 2020 was an important film in intent but exhausting in execution, confused about handling its subject of emotional intimacy. Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui (2021) was an impressive shot at progressive storytelling, but the film struggled to balance sensitivity with box office demands.

The year 2022 saw three releases for Ayushmann Khurrana. Doctor G had an excellent premise but felt oddly mechanical – a film too self-aware of its “social relevance”. Anek – ambitious and political – was a film the audience expected too much from. The film, in retrospect, failed to register an impact.

Perhaps the most telling of his gradual slowdown in career at this stage was the underperformance of An Action Hero, interestingly, one of Ayushmann’s smartest and most original concepts. That must have stung. An Action Hero, after all, highlighted a brutal new-age trend: The audience often claims they want originality but box office outcomes indicate otherwise. Spectacle invariably scores over comment.

Reloading old-school energy

A 'safe bet', Dream Girl 2, followed – it was a Rs 35-crore spiritual sequel to Dream Girl that raked in over Rs 140 crore. Somewhere between the 2023 film and last year's Thamma, Ayushmann would have realised the cold truth – much as he loves starting conversations with his cinema, it is also necessary to focus on full-on entertainment when the going gets tough.

Thamma, a Diwali 2025 release, emerges as a strangely important pivot point in this story. Mounted on a budget of over Rs 140 crore including promotions, it has been Ayushmann's most expensive release so far. The film managed a global gross of more than Rs 169 crore.

The supernatural entertainer saw him entering a louder, stranger, fantastical cinematic zone. Gone was the grounded realism. Gone was carefully-packaged social commentary. This was a world of exaggerated fun, fantasy and theatricality. The film was not a mega-blockbuster, but it made money and, importantly, gave Ayushmann the assurance his fan base was very much around.

The lesson echoes all over Pati Patni Aur Woh Do. The comedy drama oozes old-school energy with surprising confidence. It's a world of marital misunderstandings, suspicious spouses, escalating lies and frantic cover-ups set in the middle-class heartland milieu of Prayagraj and Benaras. Despite going all-out to entertain with the film, Ayushmann does not play Prajapati Pandey as a sleazy slapstick hero in the way Bollywood often portrays the stereotype of a man caught in a mire of relationships. As he fumbles through chaos, he remains oddly lovable.

Pati Patni Aur Woh Do opened to a global gross collection of Rs 5.8 crore on day one per Sacnilk – not a phenomenal score, still a respectable number for a film that rides a budget in the range of Rs 60-65 crore. Ayushmann's shot at all-out entertainment may not have blasted its way into the box office, but it's started briskly.

Regarded the “thinking person’s star” in Bollywood, the actor will follow up his new release with a few more films that primarily aim to entertain. There's a Karan Johar-backed comedy, Udta Teer, with Sara Ali Khan, besides Sooraj Barjatya’s Yeh Prem Mol Liya opposite Sharvari Wagh. These are big films, backed by two of the biggest names in Bollywood.

Bollywood’s favourite social science teacher is out to have some fun for now. That may be a smart move, actually.

- Ends