Tanuj Virwani opens up on career choices and fatherhood

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He began his career with the non-starter Luv U Soniyo in 2012, but his career really picked up after the web series, Inside Edge, in 2019. Tanuj Virwani, son to actress Rati Agnihotri, has just become father to a girl. In a Mumbai tabloid, he has described fatherhood as an “Incredible feeling”. He has further added, “My life has totally changed in the last one year. Last year, at this time, I was not even married (Tanya Jacob is his wife), and now I am a father.”

This interview took place before his baby girl’s birth and includes his views on incipient fatherhood.

The series, Inside Edge, can be called your real breakthrough.

(Grins) 100 percent, man! It was like the second innings of my career. Before that, people would say ‘He is Rati Agnihotri’s son and is yet to prove himself. Maybe he doesn’t have what it takes’, and so on. When a parent’s benchmark is set high, you have to go through that. But after Inside Edge, people began to suddenly take notice of me. But just one series or project can be deemed a fluke if there is no follow-up. Setup, Excel Entertainment and Amazon—it could have been said that I clicked because of all those reasons.

But I lucked out! And sad to say it was during the pandemic that I took a leap of faith, shot for projects when most actors thought of safety first and stayed at home,  and 2021 proved to be a landmark when I had six releases. I had barely done a few movies in all the years before that!

Ironically, the second season of Inside Edge also came alongside Code M. Cartel, Tandoor, Murder Meri Jaan and Kamathipura. So I feel that you have to be at the right place at the right time, and my time began when OTT became really big, which wasn’t the case before.

To use a cliché, how would you say the taqdeer-tadbeer (destiny and hard work) factor is arraigned in your case?

(Laughs heartily): I would say it is 50 percent luck and 50 percent hard work! Luck happens when you work hard!

Congratulations on your incipient fatherhood! How is the mood at home?

We are very, very happy and excited. The baby is due late this month!

How was it working with Kay Kay Menon the person in your latest series, Murshid? We all know that he is a legendary actor.

Every actor has a mental list of co-stars and directors he wants to work with. Kay Kay-sir was right up there for me, but I knew that our paths would cross early on as he too was into web shows, though I did not know it would happen so early. When I got a call from my director, Shravan (who had directed me in Kamathipura), I said that I will listen to the script later but I would be very, very grateful even if he gave me just two scenes with Kay Kay-sir.

Working with him has been one of the smoother experiences of my career. We did not have any rehearsals and by the time I entered Murshid, about 30 percent of the show had already been shot, and Kay Kay-sir had already turned into Murshid Pathan! My very first scene with him was about six pages long and a talk-heavy emotional sequence. I was pretty nervous the night before as I want to go prepared with my lines and those of my co-star. But we canned the scenes in one wide, one mid- and a couple of pick-up lines.

He had no hang-ups, hassles, almost a calm, Zen-like state of mind and his ability is to switch on and switch off was amazing! He is so much like a monk. Just being in his presence gave me a lot of calm, and what I really respected was that when he would be there only for giving cues, he would do it with emotions and expressions so that it would help me with my scenes! He is a very, very giving actor, and this man surpassed all my expectations, which can shatter when you meet any of your icons!

Is there anyone else who has had that effect on you?

Definitely! In one of my films to come, I got that from Vijay Raaz in Johnny Jumper.

Have you had any common co-stars with your mom?

Oh, yes, there is Vivek Oberoi! He worked in mom’s Kyon? Ho Gaya Na. I do not know if they had any scenes together, like we did in Inside Edge.

And no common directors, right?

No!

You have been a writer-director too in the short film, Scent of a Woman. Where did that yen come from? Was it the common reason of not getting good roles?

I think it is more about keeping your machine well-oiled! In this star-struck industry, you often have no time for a month and a half, and then have nothing to do for two or three months. Actually, writing, directing and acting in short films was something I have been doing since my college days. But I was doing it then more for my writing and direction standpoint because I wanted to go in that direction.

Back in 2016, I had a gap of three months between One-Night Stand and prepping for Inside Edge and began assisting Kamal Haasan-sir on his tri-lingual, Shabhaash Kundu. It was a very interesting experience and we had even gone to Los Angeles to shoot with a mix of a South Indian and American crew. So the learning never stops and whenever I get an opportunity either in front of the camera or behind, I take it.

Also, I am open to auditions because I feel that the more you audition, the better you get! You shed your inhibitions, do scenes differently—there is no right or wrong in acting! The best actor plays with the silences and pauses, and creates magic.

Where can the audiences watch the short films you made in college?

Most of them were put up on YouTube, but after I became an actor, producers persuaded me to take them off as they told me that since I was doing films, all this wouldn’t look good! But last year, I did a cool, short film with Gajraj Rao called The Interview, which we shot in Bangkok and Thailand over two days. It will be soon released on a platform. Gajraj-sir is another real maestro and you have to up your game or he will decimate you on screen! (Grins)

What can we expect from you next?

I am doing an espionage drama for Applause Entertainment, DAU, a Mumbai-based crime thriller with Rahul Dev. There is Johnny Jumper, in which I play a cable-worker who is actually a mole for the police, and a rom-com named Puppy Love with Tridha Chaudhary. There is also the second season of the Netflix show, Rana Naidu with Rana Dagubatti, Venkatesh and Surveen Chawla, and it is great to work with all of them. For me, the length of a role has never mattered. If I am offered the male lead and I feel that something is wrong, I will not accept it. And the reverse too is true.

And which film of your mom is your favorite?

(Instantly) Coolie, Shaukeeen and Tawaif.

Not Ek Duuje Ke Liye?

My parents would not let me watch Ek Duuje Ke Liye as a kid, and when I accidentally watched it on TV, and saw my mom ‘die’, I was upset! And when I went to the kitchen and she was cooking, I started howling, thinking she was a ghost! So though the film is great and I respect and regard it, watching it is a shade upsetting!