Watch TIME100 Impact Awards honoree Ayushmann Khurrana's acceptance speech in Singapore.
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00:00 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
00:12 Don't get surprised.
00:13 I just want to say a few lines in my national language,
00:16 my mother tongue at this platform, on this global stage.
00:21 Greeting everyone, I would like to say a verse
00:24 from our revered Indian scripture, Bhagavad Gita.
00:28 It goes like-- it's in Sanskrit.
00:31 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
00:41 This verse encapsulates the essence of selfless action.
00:46 It emphasizes to be process-oriented,
00:48 then result-oriented.
00:50 It makes you fall in love with the process, not
00:53 the outcome of it.
00:55 Probably it gives you the lessons on detachment
00:58 from the fruits of your own labor.
01:02 Neither did I think, nor did I aspire
01:04 to be here on this global platform representing
01:08 my nation.
01:09 I was just doing my job as an artist,
01:12 earnestly choosing stories which were real, eclectic,
01:16 relatable, stories which could just trigger
01:20 a social change in our society.
01:24 I never thought my simplistic, socially responsible approach
01:27 towards my art would usher me to this time 100
01:31 and back towards Singapore.
01:34 India is very heterogeneous.
01:36 We have multiple religions, regions, 780 languages,
01:43 and we're almost 1.5 billion people in population.
01:47 So we have that many stories to tell.
01:54 I was very active as a theater person, especially
01:57 street theater.
01:58 And what exactly is street theater?
02:00 We used to go to a public place, a group of actors,
02:06 and there was not a ready audience.
02:08 We used to call everyone, form a circle, and perform, act.
02:12 I used to encapsulate the fabric of India, maybe,
02:17 the social fabric of India.
02:19 It could be a folklore.
02:22 It could be satire.
02:24 But definitely, it was a call for a social change.
02:27 And then I started journalism, did community radio
02:35 for villages before shifting my base to a bigger city
02:38 like New Delhi or Mumbai.
02:39 All I know is my awareness of the grassroots level of India
02:47 has really evolved me as an artist.
02:50 We were basically a bunch of Indian buskers traveling
02:53 length and breadth of India and reaching out
02:57 to the masses of the lowest common denominator.
03:01 So when I joined films, I think it
03:02 was just an extension of my street theater personality.
03:08 My films took the similar route of being conversation starters
03:11 through entertainment.
03:13 Tonight is a humbling moment for me
03:15 to be recognized as an artist by the prestigious "Time"
03:18 magazine.
03:19 I'm here to represent India's moment under the sun.
03:22 And I'm proud of the fact that India
03:24 is the fulcrum of progressive storytelling through cinema.
03:30 So thank you, "Time" magazine, for constantly validating
03:33 my effort as an artist and encouraging me to tread
03:37 the road less traveled.
03:38 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
03:39 Thank you.
03:40 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
03:41 [APPLAUSE]