Avinash Tiwary recalls accidentally hitting Amitabh Bachchan on Yudh set: ‘Still haven’t recovered from the embarrassment I felt’ (2024)

Avinash Tiwary spoke about his career during SCREEN LIVE. (Express photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee)

After the grand relaunch of SCREEN on October 18, the second edition of SCREEN LIVE was held on Thursday. The event saw Sikandar Ka Muqaddar actors Tamannaah Bhatia, Jimmy Shergill, and Avinash Tiwary in attendance. During the session, Avinash shared candid insights about his struggles, revealing how it took him 15 years to land his first lead role in Imtiaz Ali’s Laila Majnu. He also recounted a memorable and somewhat awkward experience from his time shooting for the TV show Yudh with Amitabh Bachchan, where he accidentally hit the veteran actor on the head during an action scene, leaving him deeply embarrassed.

Recalling the incident, Avinash said, “The first time we met we had to do an action sequence. 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 added, “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 do a rehearsal 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.”

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During the same interaction, Avinash Tiwary spoke about his long road to success. “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.”

Although Laila Majnu has gained a cult following in recent years, especially among Gen Z audiences who discovered it through viral scenes on social media, the film was a box-office failure when it first hit screens. Avinash shared how heartbreaking it was to see the film’s posters torn down just three days after its debut. Interestingly, its re-release earlier this year brought it renewed attention, earning twice its original box-office collection.

Reflecting on that period, Avinash said, “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.”

Also Read | Tamannaah Bhatia on the challenge following the success of Baahubali: ‘How do you do something bigger than Baahubali?’

SCREEN LIVE with Jimmy Shergill, Tamannaah Bhatia and Avinash Tiwary.

Avinash Tiwary is currently gearing up for his Netflix film Sikandar Ka Muqaddar. The story follows a hard-nosed cop whose pursuit of his key suspect turns into obsession until they finally face each other. The movie is all set to premiere on Netflix on November 29.