The perception of favouritism in Bollywood casting has persisted even though newcomers have made their mark without any help. Many of these actors from filmy backgrounds haven’t survived in the industry, despite solid backing from their families. Yet, some have made a mark, and mostly without the star power to back them.
Tanuj Virwani is one of them. Although not as well-known as Alia Bhatt or Ranbir Kapoor, Tanuj has shown what it takes to create an impression by stepping out of his actor mother’s shadow.
The misconception of privilege
“People are under this misconception that because my mother is an actress and it runs in the family, it was an automatic choice, but nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, it’s true that I was always creatively inclined, but I always felt I would end up doing something behind the camera, be it writing, be it direction,” Tanuj explains.
Tanuj has always loved to showcase his creative side, not necessarily with acting.
“I truly felt my vocation was writing and direction and right from when I was in college, we used to make a lot of student short films, even during the lockdown, when we were all sitting at home, I wanted, I was feeling a little creatively stunted and I felt like I needed to express myself.
So, and of course, we needed to find a hobby, some way to keep us sanity, right during those crazy times. So I just ordered a bunch of lenses online and I attached it to my iPhone and on my own, I scripted, acted, directed and did all the post production, the sound, the BGM, everything.”
Later on, he started as an assistant director to learn the ropes of filmmaking.
“I feel theory can only take you so far, what you practically learn on set goes a long, long way. And during that process, I was fortunate enough to see a lot of amazing actors switch on, switch off, perform in front of the camera. And I think that’s around the time where subconsciously and very gradually the acting bug started hitting me,” he explains.
That early exposure helped understand what it means to get into character, and for a career that helped him create a unique name for himself.
His Real Break
Tanuj made his Bollywood debut with Luv U Soniyo in 2013, followed by two more films. However, his real break came in 2017 with Inside Edge, a sports drama for Amazon Prime Video that earned him critical acclaim. This was a time when moviegoing was still a thing, and OTT wasn’t as popular as it became after the lockdown.
Tanuj did have a headstart here that helped him make a mark in the industry.
“You know, in hindsight, a lot of people think it was a masterstroke, but nothing could be further away from the truth because I had given three failures as a lead actor and I was not getting the kind of substantial work or roles that I was hoping to do,” he explains.
“Around then, I had auditioned for this show called Khel, and at that time, Amazon was not involved, neither was Excel, and I showed on a current like the screen test. So we were talking but then it was happening, wasn’t happening, the people who were producing it, they backed out and then the project went dead.
A few months later, it was revived by Excel and Amazon came on board and that’s when Khel turned into Inside Edge and I was very, very fortunate to land that role. It was a watershed moment in my career,”
Tanuj has been one of the few actors to have a headstart in the rapidly evolving entertainment industry, that has forced many established actors and directors to pivot to the medium. These OTT platforms have made a drastic change in the way stories are conveyed. Tanuj feels this medium of storytelling is much more than a shift from the multiplex to the drawing room.
“As an actor, I feel for our fraternity, for all our actors across film, television, theatre, our technicians, you know we have so much of talent and I feel it’s this wonderful platform where you know they get to come and express themselves, their creativity and of course the financial gains are fairly substantial as well” he adds.
Flexibility to experiment
Tanuj hasn’t shied away from any kind of roles, he has been open to portray all kinds of characters.
“I don’t have any certain preference playing the good guy, playing the bad guy, playing the character with shades of grey. You know, I feel in his eyes, even the villain is the hero of his story.
So it’s all a matter of perspective. For me, what really, really excites me as an actor is good meaty content. It does not have to be the length of the role or how many punch lines one has. It’s the impact that your character makes to the larger story that is being told,” he explains.
Roles he wants to explore
Now that Tanuj has explored all kinds of roles- from the ‘bad guy’ in Tandoor to the cop role in Murder Meri Jaan, which kinds of roles is he now exploring in the future?
“There are genres which I have not had the good fortune of being a part of. As yet, that’s something I would definitely want to get into.
One would be a historical I think, like a period piece, it could be something from the Mughal era, it could be something from the British era. It could be something where we did not have access to technology and things were a lot more simpler.
Another genre would be horror. I get very scared in horror movies and I’m just curious to know that are they as scary when they film it or is it funny or how is it?
You know it’s make-believe in that moment, but how do you sell it to the audience? Because I feel no matter how cool or how scary the gags are in a horror film, what actually sells it and grounds it in reality is the artists.”
Despite having his mother Rati Agnihotri’s legacy, Tanuj’s rise hasn’t been defined by that. He has created his own space in the entertainment industry, and his journey to express his creative side has just started.
