Learning and hard work is the stairway to success: Tanuj Virwani

Tanuj Virwani is all set to revive his career in Bollywood. His career in the industry initially took off with his debut film Luv U Soniyo last year which unfortunately failed to make an impact and fell flat at the box office. But on the upside, the new generation actor considers it to have been a learning process since it gave him an opportunity to work with directors of repute. Now it’s time to make a fresh start for Tanuj Virwani as his forthcoming film Purani Jeans is all set to hit theatres on May 1,  2014.

In an exclusive chit chat with Adgully, actor Tanuj Virwani, shared with us his learnings  in the industry so far and also briefed us about his forthcoming release Purani Jeans.

Speaking about his long hiatus post Luv U Soniyo and his return to the big screen he said, “For me the experience has been really nice so far.  When I did Love U Soniyo  I was a lot younger then since  I did that film in November 2011 and unfortunately the film released much later and didn’t do so well. I started my career in Bollywood once again right from scratch and then got an opportunity to work with Feroz Abbas Khan Sir in Purani Jeans. I have seen this industry from behind the camera and now it’s time to face the camera”.

Earlier in his career he has assisted directors like Ken Ghosh for his film Chance Pe Dance and Glen Barretto for Aao Wish Karein.  Apart from that he has also worked on loads of short films which have been nominated for film festivals on the national and international level.

Elaborating on the film Purani Jeans, the story, plot and the character he essays in the movie Virwani said, “In Purani Jeans, I am playing the lead character Siddharth, who lives in New York but wishes to come back to his hometown in India.  I am the narrator in the film. It is about the   journey of a man who has achieved much in life and who revisits his hometown after a gap of 12 years. Purani Jeans set in the mid 90’s gives out a strong and clear message viz. that no matter where you are or how successful in life you cannot be happy without your loved ones, family and friends.”

Being yesteryears actress Rati Agnihotri’s son, when asked if acting was the profession he always wanted to be in or had other plans in mind he shared to say, “My mom stopped acting  post her marriage till when I turned 16. I have never seen my mother acting in my growing years. Having an inherent creative streak in me I always wanted to explore creativity and that’s the reason I worked in an advertising agency, then later as an assistant director but had nothing concrete in mind with regard to my future plans. It took me a while before I came to a conclusion that acting was the right choice as it has genuinely much to offer.”

Despite being a celeb kid, things were not easy for Virwani who has undergone several screen-tests and auditions and struggled in the early days of his career. In his opinion today it is not enough just being an actor, but it is far more important to understand the technicalities of how things function behind the camera and this belief led him to work as Assistant Director for more than a year which was a learning process for him.

Commenting on the recent trends he has observed in the industry he stated, “Actors  need not  be inherently good looking, since some actors have a certain charm which attract them to viewers instantly. That charm plus good packaging of the film is important.  It doesn’t mean that all good films are high budget films, but it should be packaged well in terms of best casts, script and direction. How to promote a film too is really important. Today the social media platform is helping all of us to grow and the new marketing tools helps to spread awareness about us and our work. End of the day I completely agree that script is the king and if content is weak nothing can save us.”

In Bollywood, Ranbir Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor are Virwani’s favourite actors.

Further elaborating on the present scenario in the industry he avers “I think it’s a very good time to work in this industry since the last 5-6 years has witnessed a growth of loads of studios and multiplexes all around. Film–makers today are taking more risks and making differentiated films. It’s getting competitive day by day but I feel it’s good to have competition because healthy competition makes us put in more effort.”

Presently Virwani is focusing on film scripts of which the first is all set to be released while the other two are yet to be confirmed for production. He further adds that of the 6 songs in the film Purani Jeans, Dil Aaj Kal sung by K.K. is his favourite. He is also glad to be working with his mother who portrays the role of his reel life mother in the film.
“I would attribute my present status to the few things that I have learnt in life. With no formal training, work itself has been a learning process for me,” he concludes.

Purani Jeans will hit the theatres this summer and is slated for a release on May 1, 2014. The film stars Tanuj Virwani, Aditya Seal, Izabelle Leite, Rati Agnihotri amongst others.

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