Avinash Tiwary on 'Bulbbul', his character Satya and adapting to the new normal as the film industry navigates the coronavirus pandemic.
Anushka Sharma's latest production Bulbbul released on OTT on June 24 and was received open heartedly by the critics and the audiences who praised the film for its storytelling as well the performances of the entire cast. With the lockdown in place, Bulbbul's 'Satya' aka Avinash Tiwary interacted with DNA over a video call and spoke about his character in the film, what exactly drove him towards it and adapting to the new normal as the film industry navigates the coronavirus pandemic.
Bulbbul was Avinash's second project on Netflix after Ghost Stories that released earlier this year. When asked about his character Satya, he said, "What stood out for me in Satya was the innocence and naivety." He further added, "I loved the script. Initially, when I read the Satya, I was not sure if I should be doing this because on paper if you look at it, audiences knew more about things then Satya did, all the characters in the film knew more about what's happening then Satya did. Completely, on paper, he is a dumb guy."
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When asked him to go on, Avinash explained that there was a scene in the film which made him look at Satya in a different light which made him take up the role.
"When in the film Bulbbul says 'Tum bhi ab sabki tarah ho gaye ho', that really stood out for me. I thought he did everything right but the 'feminist' idea behind the film was that we needed to identify the patriarchs too. When we talk about feminism we have to acknowledge different kinds of patriarchs. Rahul Bose's characters did come across as the patriarchs we understand but Satya was the kind of guy who seemed to do everything right and still become a part of that patriarchal system that he hasn't consciously done. The system makes him become one of them. I thought that was interesting."
For the uninformed, Avinash made his Bollywood debut with Tu Hai Mera Sunday. He followed it up with a stunning performance in Laila Majnu the next year. When we asked him about the pandemic and if he ready to get back on sets and work, he said, "Somewhere personally I feel as we are coming up with a conversation about the 'new normal' until we find a vaccination, we need to adapt to how things are at present. A lot of responsibilities then go to the producers who have to decide how the set would be like and how would it be functioning."
He further added, "Everybody can still be protected but actors are more vulnerable because you cannot be wearing a mask and shoot, that cannot happen but you can direct wearing a mask. If you ask me, yes, I am ready and willing to go out and do this job because I feel my work is essential, not only to the world for me as well. But yes, filmmaking is a team game so unless everyone's safety isn't taken care of, we shouldn't go and do it but I am willing to."
