Tanuj Virwani: I am piggybacking on Sunny Leone

Rati Agnihotri's son, Tanuj, has not made a mark in Bollywood yet. He eagerly awaits his third film One Night Stand starring Sunny Leone and prays that he'll be 'third time lucky'.

Your movies haven’t done well so far...
It felt very bad when my first film Luv U Soniyo flopped, but my second one Purani Jeans was coming up soon so it acted like a cushion. But when Purani Jeans too sank, I was extremely hurt. 
I decided to stay away from everybody. However, I realised after a few months that I better take the failures on my chin and face the world. You need to be very thick skinned in Bollywood as you meet all sorts of people.  
I felt that i should stop brooding and take some time off. I thought that I should reevaluate myself as an actor, and see how I can improve myself in picking up my roles and scripts. 

Who rallied around you?
Mom, dad and close friends. But I feel that you have to be your own best friend sometimes. Since I am a single child, I am used to spending a lot of time by myself. I am very comfortable in my own company. I know people who are in constant need to be surrounded by people--- but I am not one such. Waise bhi, if you are in retrospective mood, it is better if you're alone.

Over to One Night Stand. How did it happen?
I was out of work for almost 8 months after Purani Jeans released. One day, I was headed home after a fashion show, when I got a call from Bling who was managing my work at that time. They asked me if I would like to test for a movie called One Night Stand with Sunny Leone. I told them: ‘Yeah, sure. But is there a good role for me or it is her show all the way?’ I went for the auditions, andin three days, I was on board.



What was so special about this film that you decided to do it?
Three reasons:
a) I had played only sweet boy-next-door characters in my first two films and I wanted to try something different, something that is edgy and has shades of grey.   
b) I know I am not a star and a film will not be sold on my name solely. I can only add to the product. I had to piggyback on someone else’s (read: Sunny) stardom in order to get noticed, I didn’t see any harm in doing that. 
c) The script was good, the entire set up was good. I liked the entire package.



Did you need many retakes for your intimate scenes with Sunny?
Not too many. The scenes were well discussed in advance. Moreover, I have realised that it is very mechanical to enact hot scenes, there is a crowd on the set and everyone is trying to give his/her set of instructions. But I won’t lie. I was a bit cagey before doing the bold scenes with Sunny. I hadn't shot for any hot stuff in my previous films. Pehli baar tha, thoda dar zaroor tha.

I see a marked change in you since I met you last, you were so shy and even gawky at the time of Luv U Soniyo...
The only thing that is constant in life is change. The change in me is not a conscious effort though. I think as life goes by--- you meet a lot many people, you interact more... the environment around you has an effect on you no matter what you do to avoid it.



Did the tough period at home with your parents (Rati Agnihiotri and Anil Virwani almost had an ugly divorce, Rati complained against Anil of physical violence) play a role in changing you?
I wouldn't say that the tough time per se at home changed me--- but nobody would like to see something like that happening in your own home especially with one's own parents. We have a small family and I am the only child. I have always had a cocooned life and for the first time I had to be the parent or say a mediator, instead of being the son. I had to grow up overnight. It was definitely a different role for me. 

But you saw it coming, right?
Obviously, such a thing can't happen overnight. Living in the same house, it is next to impossible to not know what’s coming. However, I didn’t expect it to blow out of proportion in the manner it did.



How is it now?
Things are a lot better now by the grace of God, touch wood. My parents have reconciled. We celebrated their anniversary in Lonavla on Feb 9.

What's your take on 'one-night-stand' in real life?
See, I feel it is a simple case of 'different strokes for different folks'. If it works for some people then well and good, even if it doesn’t, it's fine. Let's not be judgmental.  And at the same time it has to be done with a lot of responsibility.

Responsibility?
Make sure that  if you want to have a one-night-stand, you and your partner are on the same page. Don’t hurt him/her, he/she should not have different expectations from the encounter. Tell them it's a no-strings-attached thing. But if you're married or in a relationship, it is not a good thing to do.

Have you had a one-night-stand?
Yes, I have experienced a few of them in my college days.



And what was the feel after that, any guilt?
No, there was no guilt because as I said if you clear it with your partner beforehand, it is all good. I would like to imagine that I am friends with some of the people I have been with.

Hmmm... what's next after the film One Night Stand?
I haven’t signed anything after One Night stand. There are a couple of offers but I would like to buy my time before I respond to them.


Image Source: Boxofficecapsule, facebook/sunnyleone & Hdwallpapers