By Joginder Tuteja
If there is one actor who has been the busiest in the world of OTT in 2021, it’s Tanuj Virwani. Invading the digital world in a major way right from the beginning of the year till the very end, he is practically seeing as many as six web shows arriving in a single year, the most for any actor. As a matter of fact it could well have been seven but then that’s coming in 2022 now.
Starting with The Tattoo Murders (earlier titled Kamathipura) to Tandoor, Murder Meri Jaan and Cartel to now releasing Illegal 2 followed by Inside Edge 3, it looks like Tanuj Virwani, who first got prominence in the part of hot headed yet charming T20 player Vayu Raghavan in the two seasons of Inside Edge, has practically worked for more than 300 days this year.
Chuckles Tanuj, “Well, I don’t keep a count like that but yes, I can say that the number of days that I have worked for not just this year but even the ones before have been substantial. In fact last year was relatively lesser due to pandemic but then 2019 was also very engaged. For now though, I am making up for 2020 which could have been so much better for all of us.”
Isn’t he getting tired?
“How about the saying, make hay while the sun shines,” he smiles, “Jokes apart though, there are some series that you shoot and they immediately release, case in point being Illegal 2 which we shot just two and a half months back. On the other hand Inside Edge 2 is something that I completed a couple of years back. Even Cartel took a lot of my time as I had started shooting for it back in 2019 itself. It’s just that all of these are coming back to back so people assume that I shot all of this together.”
Though he has done close to 10 web series already, he was one of the first entrants in the world of OTT when he released the first season of Inside Edge back in 2017. Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani had a vision of where this space was headed for and made an early impression with a very well mounted web series on cricket with all the drama surrounding it.
“Yes, I would say that 2017 was a major turning point for my career,” acknowledges Tanuj, who has ever since then been seen in Poison and Code M as well, “No one forgets the first and Inside Edge is what introduced me as a lead and that too in the OTT family. Later, all the hard work and energy that I put in Poison and Code M allowed me to get closer to the audiences. Guess over the last four years, my investments have started to pay off.”
No wonder, he has been indulging in varied genres, be it crime, drama, thrills, humour, sports and light hearted stuff.
“People have more faith in my abilities and lapping me in different performances. From here, I am aiming to take it from big to bigger. Let’s look at it this way, you have to start from the ground floor if you have to reach the penthouse. Last four years have been building blocks of my career where I have moved from 1 BHK to 2 BHK. Now I am aiming for the penthouse. Hopefully and god willing, I would own a building soon,” says Tanuj with a lot of aspiration to compliment his ambitions, as he gears up for the release of Inside Edge 3 this Friday.
With the second season of Code M being his next release in 2022 and a lot more happening in the world of web series and Bollywood movies as well in the coming months, guess a spot right at the penthouse is pretty much awaiting him already.