INTERVIEW A Polymath's Journey: A Conversation with Dr. Akash Khurana

A Polymath's Journey: A Conversation with Dr. Akash Khurana

- by Madhulika Ra Chauhan

From thermodynamics to screenwriting, from corporate boardrooms to film sets, Dr. Akash Khurana embodies the rare breed of creative professionals who refuse to be confined by singular identities. In this candid conversation, the multifaceted artist reflects on a career that spans engineering, acting, screenwriting, academia, and entrepreneurship.

In the pantheon of Indian cinema, few figures traverse as many worlds as effortlessly as Dr. Khurana. His creative journey began with Shyam Benegal's Kalyug, a complex meditation on mythology and modernity that would establish him not just as an actor, but as someone who understood the deeper currents of storytelling. Working with the legendary filmmaker proved transformative in ways that continue to influence his approach decades later.

To the uninitiated, Dr Khurana is an engineering graduate with an MBA from XLRI and an M.Phil. and Ph.D. from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. He started his career as an executive with TELCO. Calling it a simple “career shift" undersells the complexity of Dr. Khurana’s transition. His deep erudition and insatiable curiosity made his move into media and entertainment in the late 1980s feel almost inevitable. Although, he was already involved in theatre and was also the founder of the theatre magazine Ovation. Having directed and acted in many successful theatre productions, he made his first screen appearance in Shyam Benegal's Kalyug and went on to play character roles in over 50 films such as Saaransh, Ardh Satya, Sarfarosh, and Company. He won the Nandi Award of Andhra Pradesh for playing the lead in the Telugu film Dr Ambedkar.

Swayam directed by Mahesh Bhatt marked his debut as a screenwriter. He has written over 20 scripts, his best known work being Baazigar for which he won the Filmfare Award for best screenplay.