Madgaon Express‘ Avinash Tiwary made his acting debut with television series Yudh in 2014 and then appeared in a slice of life film Tu Hai Mera Sunday in 2016. However, he gained recognition with Sajid Ali’s Laila Majnu in 2018 that also starred the current “national crush” — Animal fame Triptii Dimri.
Avinash, who plays Ayush in Kunal Kemmu’s directorial Madgaon Express, is receiving a lot of love along with the two other actors — Pratik Gandhi who plays Pinku and Divyenndu who plays Dodo. While, he has been an actor for 15 years, Avinash, in this interview with indianexpress.com, candidly says that he is still waiting for his “one film or one show to break the ceiling” like his Laila Majnu co-actor Tripti Dimri who turned into a “national crush” after featuring in a supporting role in the Ranbir Kapoor starrer directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga.
Avinash Tiwary has been hailed as a versatile actor and has created a space for himself in the industry over the last 15 years. However he has mainly portrayed intense roles, and it is evident with his recent choices — Netflix’s Khakee: The Bihar Chapter, Amazon Prime Video’s Bambai Meri Jaan and Bejoy Nambiar’s Kaala on Disney+ Hotstar. The actor confesses that doing Madgaon Express was less “taxing for him”.
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He says, “I had three very intense shows just prior to Madgaon Express — Khakee, Bambai Meri Jaan and Kaala. It is not the right thing to say, and it’s not true also that this was easier, but I would say it was less taxing for me to do Madgaon than all the other parts. Hence I felt a bit liberated. There was no burden of certain characteristics to maintain the gravity of intensity of the characters I was playing earlier. It gave me a breath of fresh air, made me feel lighter. I felt I could be more expressive as there was more freedom to do stuff and I enjoyed it. I also started wondering if by doing less taxing work I can make the audience react in this way then why am I doing so much mehnat (hard work)!”
Madgaon Express is being compared to Farhan Akhtar’s Dil Chahta Hai, but it is not performing at the box office as the makers would like. When asked how he reacts to the difficult times at the box office, especially because it is his return to the big screen after a long gap of five years. Avinash said, “I just know that the film didn’t start off that well because it is a low COP (cost of production) and it will have its own kind of journey. But once the reviews started flowing in, it’s been very consistent and constant and it is growing in different parts of the country. Now you can almost see that it is picking up in different centers. I truly believe that if it stays longer, say for 10-15 more days, in cinemas, it will start making a dent in various centers of our country.”
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He then discussed buddy comedies and how it doesn’t appeal to everyone, and hence it is taking time for the film to grow. “I also think humour is very very subjective. I have been told that it appeals only to a certain segment of the country and it doesn’t engage the other segment. I do not understand that honestly, but all I know is that there is a lot of love flowing in and the producers seem happy. They don’t seem like, ‘Oh humne paise barbaad kar diye (We’ve wasted our money).’ Everybody associated with the film is having fun, The rest will find its due equilibrium in its own course of time,” he said.
Laila Majnu was Avinash Tiwary’s last theatrical. While the film was taken off theatres in three days owning to the Covid-19 pandemic, his and co-star Tripti Dimri’s performances were appreciated by critics and audiences equally. Avinash says, “Post Laila Majnu, there has always been a lot of love, respect and admiration for my work and that has been the only strength to carry on, very honestly. Of course I wouldn’t deny that I haven’t had a breakthrough film or show that has broken the ceiling. That hasn’t happened. In due course of time, one film or show will just reach out to everyone, break a ceiling and once that happens everything falls into place. With Madgaon Express now people know that I can do all kinds of stuff, that I can be versatile.”
Avinash and Triptii reunited for Bulbbul, Netflix’s widely appreciated show by Anvita Dutt. When reminded of how their performances received adulation from the audience and cemented their place in the film industry, in fact after Animal, Triptii even became India’s “national crush,” Avinash said, “There was a breakthrough moment for her and all the credibility that she earned before that has given so much more love to her. I am hoping something like that would happen to me as well.”
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