Ready to make his debut with luv U Soniyo, Rati Agnihotri's son, Tanuj Virwani, talks to Iknoor Kaur about working on short films and taking lessons from his mom
Not long ago, he was overweight, under-confident, stuttered in speech and had bad skin. He was assured that acting is not his cup of tea. Rati Agnihotri’s son, Tanuj Virwani, worked as a clapper boy, assistant director and did a three-month crash course with Kishore Namit Kapoor to get rid of his inhibitions. He is due to make his silver screen debut this week with the film luv U Soniyo.
A clichéd romantic comedy where a boy sees a girl and overnight turns into a gentleman from a typical college boy, Tanuj’s debut film is all about love. According to him, this was the best platform for him to kickstart his career. “People like to start with hatke stuff, but I want to start small and have my presence felt,” he said.
In spite of being a star kid, Tanuj said that he had a very normal childhood. He shared a bit about his family, “My mother had taken a break when I was born and all through my childhood I have seen her as a homemaker. However, we are a very strong-headed family, so my mother doesn’t come and help me with acting or give me tips. But if I go up to her with a problem, she always helps. I think that’s the advantage of having such a fine actor living under the same roof. She is more like a friend to me and the reason my confidence is high now and I look like this is because of her determination and pushing me into doing things.”
Being the son of a renowned actress, Tanuj feels that people expect a certain level of excellence from him. He said, “People always expect more from you than you can give, but I don’t take that in a negative way otherwise how will I function. My mother is different than me and we both possess our own unique talent.”
Ever since childhood Tanuj has loved everything about cinema. He said, “I love world cinema. Everything about it is interesting. Many times I rewind, pause and replay a scene because I get so inspired by the way a particular shot has been taken.”
He has also tried his hand at filmmaking, “I’ve made around 11-12 short films which are on YouTube. They are amateur but I like making films.”
Tanuj hopes that in future he will get to work with directors like Imtiaz Ali and Anurag Kashyap. As of now, Tanuj has signed a three-film contract with Eros. His second, Purani Jeans, will be releasing next year.