Avinash Tiwary on playing Imtiaz Ali's Majnu: It’s like love in the times of Tinder and hashtag

Avinash Tiwary, who made his Bollywood debut as part of an ensemble cast in the light-hearted Tu Hai Mera Sunday (2016), will now be seen as the lead in Sajid Ali’s  Laila Majnu  (releases on 7 September). Scripted by acclaimed filmmaker Imtiaz Ali , who is also backing the film (as presenter and creative director) along with Ekta Kapoor, it’s a contemporary retelling of the classic love story. “In December 2015, I met Sajid when they were casting for the film. He told me that he’d liked my audition, but they were yet to take the final call. Eventually, in 2017, I was signed on for the part,” says Tiwary adding, “There is an Imtiaz Ali and there is an Ekta Kapoor coming together. It’s as big as it gets. Two different people, almost like chalk and cheese and two ends of the spectrum showing faith in me, it feels great.” [caption id=“attachment_5124841” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Tripti Dimri and Avinash Tiwari in a promo still of Laila Majnu. Image via Twitter[/caption] But what’s surprising is that despite having vast experience in theatre, television, short films, and now feature films, Tiwary remains an unknown face. “I find that quite unique in itself – remaining a hidden face despite doing some quality work in theatre, short films, television and now films,” says Tiwary, who’s also known for his breakout role as advocate Ajatshatru in the popular Sony TV psychological thriller series, Anurag Kashyap-directed Yudh (2014) with Amitabh Bachchan in the lead. “It was a big opportunity for me. Yudh gave me the confidence that you are good enough to be here to stand in front of Mr Bachchan, and Tu Hai Mera Sunday got us lot of love,” he says. Tiwary hails from Bihar; the family shifted to Mumbai 25 years back and he quit engineering in the fourth semester to pursue a career in acting. “I did my schooling in Mumbai. Earlier, I didn’t have any inclination towards acting as such and took up engineering. But it was in my fourth semester that I decided to take up acting and my first step was to get into theatre and I did quite a few plays with established names like Om Katare. But after few years I realised that I need to train myself and I went to Delhi to join Barry John’s acting studio and further went to New York Film Academy thinking that the world was waiting for me but it wasn’t,” he laughs with a hint of sarcasm. While Imtiaz has been the guiding force throughout, it’s Sajid who has lent the story a fresh voice, says Tiwary. “Sajid has taken the shots on the sets but Imtiaz sir was creatively involved throughout. Sajid would often joke that Imtiaz directed him and he directed the actors. But Sajid has got that uniqueness into the film. We did a lot of workshops before we started shooting. Imtiaz sir attended all of those and he would always tell me that I needed to feel for the character and understand where he was coming from before saying the dialogues. He also trained me how to lip-sync for songs,” he adds, while recalling the angst he felt after watching Imtiaz’s Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Rockstar. “I felt distressed that I wasn’t part of the film but now I am feeling a bit better. Laila Majnu has given me some comfort and I hope Imtiaz sir would want to work with me again. He seems to be decently pleased with our performance,” he says. [caption id=“attachment_5124821” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] A still from Laila Majnu. Image via YouTube[/caption] Tiwary says that the elements of the legendary romance stays in their take on Laila Majnu, “but to be able to put it together in today’s time and make it real, there has been certain changes. But it is only in the telling and not the story. It’s like love in the times of Tinder. The phone conversations between the two, what are these conversations and how do they talk today is quite interesting,” says the actor, who believes that the love story is still relatable to today’s audiences. “If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t be hearing Laila Majnu in songs even today. They are part of our being. My Majnu is more aspirational than any character that we see around even though we’ve become a hashtag generation. I want to see him as a guy who is so liberated, free of all the trappings of the world and all the sense of judgment that the world has around him and the vanity; it is a very powerful space to be in and I hope it becomes aspirational for people,” he says. Further, talking about the legendary lover that he plays, Tiwary says, “The guy’s name was Kais and he was called Majnu when he went mad. Kais seems to be the guy who is looking for something beyond and he doesn’t really know what. The only way of functioning that he knows is to be honest, he’s honest about everything. There’s no need to impress him because he feels so complete. He’s a different person. I wish I could be as optimistic as he was." Tiwary may not be very sure about his future, “But the work that I have put in will hopefully come through. I am in good hands now. It has been a long wait. Opportunities have been difficult but I did get it. If I am able to reach here on my own and have lasted for 15 years, I can continue doing so even in the future. I may be able to pull through. I want to be the best version of what I am,” he concludes.