US tour sets a benchmark, says Ayushmann Khurrana

New Delhi: After creating waves with his music in India, actor-singer Ayushmann Khurrana is marking his first tour to the US with his band Ayushman Bhava. The actor says the tour is very important as the US is a big market and sets a benchmark.

An excited Ayushmann will be touring a total of nine cities in America and Canada with his bandmates starting from Friday.

Asked why he chose the US as his first international destination to perform live with his band, Ayushmann told IANS: "US is pretty sought-after. There are a lot of Indians there. It's said that if your US tour goes successful, then event managers take notice of you across the world. So I guess it's a benchmark. US tour is the most important tour because it's a big market."

The ‘Vicky Donor’ star says he is not at all jittery for his debut international live performance. In fact, he is "really excited for that".

"I was looking forward to it. My first visit was somewhere three to four years back in Texas, Dallas," he added.

The actor shared that he and his band will be "going to Orlando first, after that we will be going to Houstan, Toronto, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, San Jose, Dallas, Seatle and Vancouver. So, it's US and Canada."

Does he want to keep his band as a separate identity?

"Ayushmann Bhava is a separate identity. It is not a part of my films because my band consists of people who are regular in 'Coke Studio' and 'MTV Unplugged'. They are very seasoned performers and they make you sound good," said the 35-year-old.

Ayushmann calls his band his backbone.

"I guess you have to have a good band because it is really a backbone for a singer, especially for a textured singer. I am textured singer. I am not a classical singer, so I need a powerful band and they really complement me," he said.

The ‘Nautanki Saala!’ star says if he gets a chance he would love to be a part of music festivals.

"Film festivals like NH7 or any other are not film or commercial music. I would love to be a part of music festivals, but I guess my music is more commercial," Ayushmann said.

Asked if he finds performing live difficult, he said: "Of course. Performing live is really difficult, but at the same time it's really exciting."

He says he finds performing on stage "more gratifying" because it helps in getting "instant public reaction".

"When it comes to stage performances, be it acting or singing it is just the instant gratification or instant know how or the behaviour of the public you notice and improvise in the same time," said the "Dum Laga Ke Haisha" star.

Apart from films, the 31-year-old, has also worked on singles like ‘O heeriye’, ‘Mitti di khusboo’ and ‘Yahin hoon main’. Ayushmann feels that the "era of singles and albums" are coming back.

"It's an era of instant things that's why people don't have the patience to listen to the whole album or compose them. I think singles are topping the charts these days," he said.

He shared that commercial music too is "getting promoted via singles apart from other kind of genres".

The actor says that this era is the best to be an artiste.

He explained: "Especially for a musician or a singer because they have various platforms to showcase their talent...be it reality shows or music festivals. If your music is commercial, then you have film songs."

He has also lent his voice for film songs – ‘Pani da rang’ from ‘Vicky Donor’, ‘Saadi galli aaja’ from ‘Nautanki Saala!’, ‘Khamakhaan’ from ‘Bewakoofiyaan’, and ‘Dil-e-nadaan’ from ‘Hawaizaada’.

Does singing a song for a film in which he is starring boost his confidence?

Ayushmann said: "I think more than that, it adds to the credibility as an artiste. Apart from that, you can just emote well. You know what you have done in the studio while singing for the song, so the room for emoting well is more."

As for acting, he is currently preparing for his upcoming films ‘Meri Pyaari Bindu’ with actress Parineeti Chopra and ‘Manmarziyaan’ with his ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’ co-star Bhumi Pednekar.