Mumbai, Jan 26 (IANS): Bollywood star Ayushmann Khurrana, loves watching the Republic Day grand parade that displays India's diversity, military might and cultural uniqueness.

He said: "Republic Day for me means watching the parade on Doordarshan and giving them our own rankings and marks of all the floats from the different states. My mother used to be really excited because she is from Delhi and she has seen all these floats live as a child.

"And that excitement of course rubbed off on us and we too used to get excited. We used to watch every single programme on TV - Indian Air Force, Army, Navy and all the state floats," he added.

For Ayushmann, India represents togetherness as he feels that diversity is the nation's biggest strength.

Ayushmann lives out his idea of patriotism in an evolving world and a fast-changing society through his selection of films. They represent men dealing with challenging circumstances and overcoming true challenges.

He shared: "As a citizen, as an actor - I would like to contribute to our nation by creating films that are progressive. I truly believe in the power of cinema and through my art, I would like to showcase different perspectives."

He further mentioned: "I have been part of two films, Article 15 and Anek, both with Anubhav Sinha sir - that's also about unity. It questions our society and questions discrimination so I guess these three films are really about freedom."