Avinash Tiwary At NDTV Yuva 2026: ‘Laila Majnu Was Taken Down On Day 3, Nothing Left To Feel’

New Delhi:

At the NDTV Yuva Conclave session titled “Beyond Labels: Journey of an Actor”, actor Avinash Tiwary opened up about his journey to Bollywood, the delayed success of Laila Majnu, which was taken off the theatres on its third day of release, and how the actor views ‘vanity’ in showbiz.

On Coming To Bollywood

Avinash Tiwary opens up about how he was an engineering student who believed that he was good at acting, even though he had never done it before.

He says, “I was in second year engineering. In fact, the first semester itself. I was staying in a hostel, had time for myself and somewhere that stupid nineteen-year-old boy thought that he’s good at acting, yet never done acting ever in his life, but he thought that he’s good at it. And I think from there on, I think double that age now, and I’m still trying to prove that young boy that I’m good at this. And this has been my journey.”

On Laila Majnu Finally Getting Its Due

Laila Majnu today is a cult film. It received immense love when it was re-released on August 9, 2024. But things were a lot darker when it originally released on September 7, 2018.

Avinash Tiwary recalls, “It took me 15 years to get that film. Three years of work on that film. On the third day, the theatres, the posters being pulled down. No one has seen the film. Six years later, seven years later, it re-releases out of nowhere. And so two things. I think one thing I definitely realised is that if you have goodwill, it will keep finding its audiences. And the fact that the way success has been imagined by me or people like me changed in a certain way.”

On how Laila Majnu’s positive reception from audiences came after years, and whether it impacted how the actor perceives Bollywood’s unpredictability, he has an interesting take.

Avinash Tiwary says, “That was quite clear to me that this industry is very dependent on responses of the audiences. I create a product, I come to you. You like it, you don’t like it. If you don’t like it, God, who’s giving you another opportunity? And that’s one problem of being an outsider, right? There are not many opportunities that are going to come to you. So your one failure is gone. That’s it.”

He continues, “But at the same time, this belief and we’ve always heard this that if you really are talented and you put in the work, there would be results available and I kind of stopped grieving in it. I’ve stopped believing that it would really convert into something. So that has changed for sure.”

On What Happened After Laila Majnu Was Taken Off Theatres On Day 3

Avinash Tiwary says that when it has taken 15 years to get to the point of your film releasing, and in three days it disappears, “There’s nothing left to feel.”

He continues, “You’ve really put your heart and mind into something, and on the 3rd day it’s taken off, you have nothing more left to feel. Like, it’s the end, and then you feel like maybe it is not for you, Avinash, and I felt that several times after that film, I felt that… even more. My film released yesterday, it has not made an opening, maybe it’s not a good film. But it does make you feel and ask this question: is this for you, Avinash? Is this really that you put in this kind of effort for this kind of reward? Is this what makes you keep going on? And I’m honest enough to have these conversations because it’s fine.”

On Being A Real-Life ‘Majnu’

Avinash Tiwary is a heartthrob and has been so for a while.

The actor says he has “had love” and “felt the intensity.”

He shares, “We all have experienced heartbreaks. And for me, that heartbreak was not necessarily loss of love, it was more loss of faith. And nothing breaks you more than that. Because I’ve had love, love in a sense, love toh gharwalo se pyaar sab se milai hai. But we only realise that it’s not just love, it’s more that you’re putting into it. And when that faith breaks is what puts you all in dismay, you don’t know how to function. So yes, I have felt some intensity, but Majnu didn’t have any responsibilities. Didn’t have any aspirations, didn’t have any dreams. I do. So I’m here. And he’s Majnu.”

OTT Vs Theatres

For an actor who has found a major audience in the OTT space, Avinash Tiwary says that OTT and theatres co-exist. There really isn’t any competition.

He reiterates how OTT has given jobs to so many people in the industry.

The actor adds, “What I see the biggest power of OTT is that we have a distribution system for 200 countries now. Your films, your shows can reach 200 countries, which was not there earlier. It’s the biggest power that we needed at this point of time. I feel… Personally, I’ve been struggling to find a pan-India film, a film that can be looked at by our country and say, ‘Hey, this film’, because we have a great opportunity with OTT to bring a cultural impact on the world as cinema.”

“I feel we watch a lot of content from around the world, which we should, but this is a great opportunity now because we reach 200 countries. Cinema will always be a space, theatres, I feel, will be a space that will become the home ground for actors,” says Tiwary.

Character Actor Or Not

On labels like “character actor”, Avinash Tiwary says he just doesn’t get it.

The actor says, “I don’t understand character actor. What does that mean? I understand actor. I also don’t understand versatile actor because actor is supposed to be versatile. So it’s how are we using these words? And they become so easy in our conversation that we don’t even question it. He’s a versatile actor. He’s an actor. So like… What is the difference? It has been used very loosely around. Nobody questions it. I’m sorry if anyone gets bothered by it because I genuinely don’t understand it.”

On How ‘Vanity’ Is Perceived In The Indian Film Industry Compared To The West

Avinash Tiwary has a very candid approach to the concept of ‘vanity’ when it comes to films and actors. On being asked about celebrated actors like Irrfan Khan and Manoj Bajpayee, who cannot necessarily ensure audiences flocking to the theatres despite being so loved, the Laila Majnu actor has a very sought-after response.

He says, “I’ll start from the West because all we do most of the times is groan what happens there in cinema. I don’t think only vanity and desirability is rewarded there. If you start looking at what brings the footfalls eventually, is people who you look up to. And what they are really selling you is this desirability and vanity, right? From the youngest actor to the oldest, everyone will be having a six-pack. All the girls need to be this template, bodies. It’s just desirability. And that’s only for me. I feel, I won’t say only in Hindi film industry, but majorly in the Hindi films. And that has to do with the audiences somewhere, because it’s not seen anywhere else.”

On trying to resist such stereotypical images and if it comes at a cost, Avinash Tiwary says, “I think my vanity is only dependent on the vanity of my character that I play. And which is why you’re playing different characters. You would be looking different, you can’t be looking the same guy all through your films. But we have enough films that we have seen where people don’t take that effort and they are rewarded. So I sometimes feel the audiences are very, very easy on some people. The audience are very tough on some people. Some get a lot more opportunities, some don’t. Because eventually the buck lies with the audience.”

On giving that one advice to aspirants who wish to make it in the film industry, Avinash Tiwary advises, “Come here because you really enjoy coming and performing. Because that is the eventual certainty, that if you’ll work, you’ll get the joy of working. What the audience rewards, what the industry in the trade would reward is beyond our hands, our control.”

As he wraps up the conversation, in a rapid fire round, he states that the one co-actor who truly surprised him was Triptii Dimri when he met and worked with her again in Bulbbul.

“When I met Triptii Dimri in Bulbbul, something happened. Her performance there made me feel wow. I told her also, mujhse kuch toh sikha,” says Avinash Tiwary.

Background

Avinash Tiwary is popular for some notable work in movies and the OTT space. He dropped out of engineering and pursued his passion as he got trained in acting and also worked in theatre.

He started off his career in the late 2000s, and even gained recognition for his work in the 2014 TV series Yudh alongside Amitabh Bachchan.

He debuted in Bollywood with Suno Na… Ek Nanhi Aawaz in 2009.

He also starred in the indie film Tu Hai Mera Sunday (2016), which was widely acclaimed.

Eventually his 2018 film Laila Majnu, which later gained cult status, made him a popular name in showbiz.

Some of his other notable work include Bulbbul (2020), Khakee: The Bihar Chapter (2022), Bambai Meri Jaan (2023), Madgaon Express (2024) and The Mehta Boys (2024).

His latest release is Ginny Weds Sunny 2, alongside Medha Shankr of 12th Fail fame.