Avinash Tiwary aspires to be a versatile performer

Mumbai: Actor Avinash Tiwary says as an aspiring actor, he wants to have a "range and versatility", which is why he has attempted an array of genre, whether it's an intense love story like "Laila Majnu" or his upcoming crime thriller show "Kaala".

The actor, who also gained prominence with his role in Anvita Dutt's Bulbbul", is currently promoting back-to-back OTT productions. “Bambai Meri Jaan” debuted on ‘Prime Video’ on Thursday, while “Kaala” was released on ‘Disney+ Hotstar’ today.

"As an aspiring actor, I want to have a range and versatility. These are the things that you went with (to start in the industry). The idea is to just create variety and do good stuff. Hopefully, it reaches out to the world. There’s slightly more of an aspiration to reach out to a wider audience and the world now because we’ve the distribution system," Tiwary told PTI in an interview.

The actor said director Bejoy Nambiar first approached him for "Kaala" in 2021 but he couldn't commit at the time.

"I was busy doing something else when he wanted to shoot. Then he came back again saying, ‘Are you still open for this?’. I said, ‘It’s been 13 years since I’ve been trying to work with you and now finally, we come together with an idea that’s so fresh, like reverse hawala’. I was glad that he thought of me to headline this. I felt honoured. It made me feel nice about myself as an actor.”

Tiwary said he didn't do any research for “Kaala” and instead relied on the script and the director's vision to portray the part of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ritwik Mukherjee.

"This is one of my most spontaneous performances because it was (about) going by the moment. I felt we were building this while making it. For me, it was a different kind of process. I would like to believe there are moments of honesty there,” he added.

Following the two OTT shows, Tiwary will appear in the comedy film, “Madgaon Express”, which marks the directorial debut of actor Kunal Kemmu.

" ‘Madgaon Express’ is a fun story if it lands properly. I haven’t seen the film, but I keep saying this to Kunal, 'If it lands 80 percent of his narration, then we have a winner'. There’s also another film but I shall wait for the official announcement,” the actor said.