Avinash Tiwary On Starting From TV: ‘Because Of That, I Have A House Today In Mumbai’- EXCLUSIVE
Avinash Tiwary, best known for his roles in the films Laila Majnu and The Girl On The Train, talks about his transition from TV to films
People remember Avinash Tiwary as the intense lover from Laila Majnu or the jovial guy from Tu Hai Mera Sunday or the cunning husband in The Girl On The Train. But not many people know that the actor actually started his journey from the small screen. His shows didn’t get much noticed since the first two of them released on DD National.
Talking about his journey from TV to films, Avinash reveals that doing TV wasn’t in his plans. “When outsiders, who don’t have an idea of how the industry function, start in showbiz, they don’t know how to go about things. When I started, an actor had only three mediums to do something—theatre, television or films. I had done my acting training in Delhi, then went to New York Film Academy, and when I returned, I thought I was ready to jump into the world of acting,” he shares.
But things changed for Avinash after he met a person who kind of changed his life. “That’s when I met veteran filmmaker Mr Lekh Tandon, who actually got Shah Rukh Khan into television, and he tested me for some TV project. I wasn’t that keen on doing TV but he was doing something on DD National and I realised that DD National had reach all over the county but people around me hardly watched that channel. So, I thought that by doing that show, I will be able to maintain my novelty as an actor and also earn my bread and butter,” he asserts.
Avinash went on to do two shows on DD with the yesteryear filmmaker, Lekh Tandon. “Because of that, I am able to have a house today in Mumbai,” he insists, pointing out that after those shows, he took a little sabbatical. “After that, I took a break from TV as I realised that I was stuck and had become a little laid back,” he informs.
The actor eventually returned to TV for one more show titled Yudh with Amitabh Bachchan. “It was directed by Ribhu Dasgupta and Anurag Kashyap was the showrunner for it. And that, I think, actually made people believe that I might be talented if I am standing next to Mr Bachchan in the same frame. Things started getting slightly better for me from thereon,” he shares.
Avinash insists that he never saw Television as a stepping stone towards films. “You are just looking for your survival and making sure to be able to keep growing. Thankfully I have been able to do that which is why I was able to do films later on in my life,” he concludes.
Image source: Instagram/avinashtiwary15