Following his striking debut in Laila Majnu, which recently observed five years since it's release, actor Avinash Tiwary has seen a gradual and eventful journey as an actor. Ahead of his upcoming OTT appearance in filmmaker Bejoy Nambiar's next Kaala, the actor reflects upon his role, the equation he shares with his director and his steadfast stride to the best work in the business, with Team Free Press Journal.
Speaking about his role in Kaala, the actor reveals, "I play Rithvik Mukherjee who is an IB officer. As we know, he is chasing this reverse hawala case which is of the magnitude of ₹14000 crores. He does everything that is possible in his right to stop this. For me, the beauty of his journey is that there is a huge amount of self discovery that happens for him which truly made it a very engaging human story for me."
Avinash as Rithvik in Kaala
Adding further, he shares, "What also works for me is that Rithvik is a very conventional hero trying to stop the bad from happening. But I also saw him being created in a way that is absolutely unique. He's bruised and battered from the very first instance that he makes his presence in the show. He prefers to be the last man standing than someone who's beating back. He will stop at nothing despite all the roadblocks that come along the way. That to me was something very different than all the conventional heroes that I've seen, on-screen."
From the looks of it, Kaala promises to delve into the duality that humans possess. What does Avinash opine about this as far as Rithvik is concerned? "Yes, we all have different shades and we bring it out whenever needed. But there's also you discovering certain things and shapes about yourself on a journey which you're not aware of. When your protagonist makes discoveries about himself, the audience does that too along with him/her. So it just takes you into dimensions that you are not ready for, you are not prepared for. And that's what makes it a very exciting and engaging story."
When asked about how was he encoruaged by his director to contribute to the role envisioned for him, Avinash shares, "I was wondering all throughout if at all I'm contributing. For me, all that mattered was to make the best of what I'm being asked to do. So, I hope that has translated into what Bejoy sir envisioned for me. Because he has contributed immensely to my growth as an actor and as a human being, ever since I featured in the music video of Khoya Khoya Chand for his debut film Shaitaan. For the longest time, that was my claim to fame within my friends circle. From there to Kaala, I discovered facets to myself as an actor that I did not know existed."
As we conclude the chat, the actor reflects upon his growth. "It's the power of compounding. You've been building upon yourself and your career and eventually, you realise that you have a body of credibility. It only fills your heart with gratitude and the resolve to continue what your doing, irrespective of the outcome." he signs off.
Kaala streams on Disney+Hotstar from September 15 on wards and also stars Taher Shabbir, Rohan Mehra, Jitin Gulati, Elisha Mayor and Hiten Tejwani.
