MUMBAI: Ayushmann Khurrana, who made his debut with the romantic comedy Vicky Donor, never fails to impress audience with his acting talent. The actor, who later acted in films like Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Badhaai Ho and Andhadhun, will be next seen playing the role of a bald man in Bala. The film also stars Bhumi Pednekar, and Yami Gautam in the lead roles.

While the trailer of the film has received a great response, the film has faced several obstacles until now. Not just the comparison with Kumar Mangat's Ujda Chaman but another controversy rose around making Bhumi look dark-skinned in the film rather than casting a dark-skinned actress for the part in the film. The makers were criticised for casting a fair-skinned actress to play a dark-skinned character. Now, after keeping mum for a long time, the lead cast has finally reacted to the entire controversy.

In an interview with Spotboye, Ayushmann defended his co-star and dear friend Bhumi over this dark skin controversy.  He said, "Then actors should not play cricketers, cricketers should not be actors or Kamal Haasan sir shouldn't have played Appu Raja. Why not cast a real dwarf for the role? We are actors and are open to doing roles that are challenging- where we can push boundaries. The priority to be cast in a film should be your talent and people should look forward to your work.”

He added, “Bhumi is a credible actor. She is bringing something great to the table. She has done a tremendous job in Bala and the message in the end just underlines the fact that beauty is not just skin deep, it's positive.”