Meet the mentors Ayushmann and Parineeti of India's Best Cinestars Ki Khoj

Zee TV’s India’s Best Cinestars Ki Khoj is back after a long hiatus and this time it promises to be bigger and better than last time. In its second season now, the show will have Dhoom 3 director Vijay Krishna Acharya and actress Sonali Bendre as judges. Ayushmann Khurrana and Parineeti Chopra will join them as special mentors on the show. Both Ayushmann and Parineeti will be present only for two episodes of this reality show. The series which started off with immense fanfare in 2004 was discontinued for reasons best known to Zee. Ironically, Ayushmann had contested in season one without much luck and was rejected. Call it fate or destiny, he has now returned to the same show, 10 years later as a celebrity judge. “I remember it was the spring of 2004. I was about 19 and was this nerdy, geeky guy from Chandigarh. I was extremely unconventional looking and was pitted against tall good looking guys. I never made it past the regional rounds,” recollected Ayushmann. The actor also sought to clarify that he would be more of a friend and mentor to the contestants rather than a judge. Calling the current times as the golden era of Indian cinema, Ayushmann asserted that a huge window of opportunity existed today for newcomers and unconventional looking people in Bollywood. Parineeti, on the other hand, will be sharing her acting experiences with the contestants. Right from how to be on sets to understanding the right camera angle to giving that perfect shot, Parineeti will be seen advising the stars of tomorrow on all these technical aspects of acting. Both actors unanimously agreed that in today's trying times when competition has multiplied, it is always nice to have a back-up plan. "If nothing had worked out for me, I would have gone back to investment banking," said Parineeti. When asked about star sons and daughters still having an edge over other lesser privileged ones, Parineeti said, "Whether you have a filmy connection or not, your family won't buy all the tickets of your movie. The masses have to accept you and it's your talent that will take you forward." While Parineeti never really encountered any rejection in life, the story played out differently for Ayushmann. The actor went through umpteen rejections before finally making it big as VJ which he considers as the turning point in his life. And for all the contestants who would be facing rejection in show and life, Ayushmann has just one advice, "Be sane." Well, with people from all parts of the country flocking in this time to make their Bollywood dream come true, Zee India’s Best Cinestars Ki Khoj will be one tough but worthy ride, we feel. Produced by Esselvision, the show will air from 5 July at 9pm.