Avinash Tiwary has proven to become the dark horse of Bollywood. He is currently enjoying the success, and praise he earned for portraying dreadful ganglord Chandan Mahto in Neeraj Pandey's written and produced show Khakee: The Bihar Chapter. The 7-episodic series has impressed the audience and they enjoyed the nail-biting clash between IPS Amit Lodha (Karan Tacker) and Chandan.
While interacting with DNA, Avinash frankly shared that he is a bit surprised with the reception, as Chandan was an antagonist, but the audience saw a person in the baddie through his performance."I am surprised by the reception towards my character. When I was offered the role, I was nervous and sceptical about it. I thought that I wouldn't be able to pull this off well. I was also unsure about the response to the character as well because he (Chandan) does such heinous things. I was curious to know how people would respond to it. But, I am glad that we put out our best, people acknowledged our hard work, and they saw the human being, and not judged him with his acts." Avinash added.
Khakee is Avinash's first web series, and he realised that due to the 7-8 hours of storytelling, OTT gives a chance for audience members to connect deeply with a character. While discussing Neeraj, Avinash added that the former has the perfect understanding of the masses. "Very few people understand the heartland as Neeraj Pandey does. The platform does give you the opportunity to shine, but the credit even goes to creators, who develop such engaging, multi-layered stories and characters.
Watch Avinash as Chandan Mahto in Khakee trailer
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Avinash has proved his worth by giving standout performances in his debut film Laila Majnu, Bulbul. But, Khakee is special to him, as he got to witness one of the most terrifying incidents of his career. "There is a 'walk of shame' scene, and we were shooting in a real location among villagers. In the crowd, we had our stunt doubles, who were instructed to hit me with fake stones. By the time our action director shouted 'maaro,' everyone from the crowd started throwing whatever they could find. I was attacked with potatoes, tomatoes, slippers, and stones," Avinash revealed. "After the first take, I was scared for my life. It is the scariest thing that can happen. I will never forget this experience in my life. We took 5-6 shots of the scene," said Tiwary. He even added that the guys who hit him were caught by police and security. Later, they had everything under control and continued shooting.
Avinash's debut film, Imtiaz Ali-backed Laila Majnu earned acclaim among critics, but the film failed to perform at the box office. Recalling the film's fate, Avinash added, "I don't understand, why the film didn't do well at the box office, there can be innumerable reasons. I do think that if a good film failed, it happened because we couldn't promote, or spread the word about the film well. I don't think, I was able to build the interest of the audience in it, in me, that they could come and see me. But Imtiaz (Ali) sir told me, that if a film is good it will find its audience. A film is for life. I do feel that Laila Majnu is finding its audience. Even after four years of release, the film is relevant. People watched me in Bulbul, and then they saw Laila Majnu," the actor said. He even added, "I hope people who watched me in Khakee, would go back and see Laila Majnu. I do feel that whatever I have been offered, it is only because of the credibility I earned due to Laila Majnu. This film will stay with me, till I die." Avinash concluded with a promise to continue serving his audience with memorable characters and stories.
