Avinash Tiwary recalls ‘embarrassing’ action sequence with Amitabh Bachchan

Avinash Tiwary recalled accidentally hitting Amitabh Bachchan on the head while shooting for the TV show Yudh. In a recent interview with Screen, he shared how an action sequence with the legendary actor left him feeling embarrassed.

“The first time we met we had to do an action sequence, he recalls.

He adds: “I had at that point never done an action sequence in my life. In the scene, he had to punch me, and I had to duck and give him back. Fortunately, I only hit him on his head but the embarrassment I felt at that time, I still haven’t recovered from it.”

He continued, “It was pin-drop silence on the set, and I went in for another punch because they didn’t say cut. It was the instinct of an actor that took over. I walked up to him and said sorry. He said, ‘Yes you hit me on the head.’

“I apologised and, in my nervousness, I asked him if we should rehearse and he, still holding the back of his head, looked at me like, ‘From where have you gotten this guy.’ He said, ‘But we will do it slowly.’ He told me that action is like choreography so just dance.”

He reflected on his journey to fame, saying: “I have accepted hustle as a part of my life. I was doing my engineering and one day I decided to be an actor. I didn’t know what to do. It looked like an alien world to me and one that I wasn’t fond of at that time.

“I thought I should train myself in acting with Mr Barry John in Delhi, then decided to go to the New York Film Academy and train there. I came back thinking there would be a red carpet waiting for me (laughs) and from there on the hustle started.”

Avinash recently made headlines when Laila Majnu was re-released in theatres. Although the film initially struggled, it has since gained a cult following.

“I did a couple of shows on DD National, and I thought that it would be a great way to earn my bread and butter and sustain myself. The only thing that I wanted was that one film.

“From 2003 to 2018, 15 years it took me to even say that I am a protagonist of a film (Laila Majnu). We took 3 years to make that film and on the 3rd day, the posters of that film were taken off. At that point, I didn’t know what to do.”

 “It took me 15 years to get that opportunity and then it disappeared in 3 days. From there on, I am still here and seeing the re-release of the same film. I started this year with Madgoan Express and the kind of variety that is being offered to me, I am thankful for that. I am content and happy at this point of time as an artiste, but the hustle is never ending.”