My mother taught me to be patient: Rati Agnihotri's son Tanuj Virwani

Rati Agnihotri with son Tanuj Virwani

Newcomer Tanuj Virwani, who will next be seen in 'Purani Jeans', says he is determined to make it a success in Bollywood.

Rati Agnihotri with son Tanuj Virwani

After debuting in Bollywood with flop film 'Luv_U_Soniyo', the actor, 35, decided to challenge himself by taking up a difficult role in his upcoming film 'Purani Jeans'. Tanuj says his mother, yesteryear Bollywood actress Rati Agnihotri, taught him to be patient when his first film did not work.

"It is the most important thing to succeed in the industry. There are times when it's been a year and nothing is happening, but my mother said that in order to be successful, one needs to be patient and hard-working," Tanuj told PTI.

'Purani Jeans', directed by Tanushri Chattrji Bassu, is a modern day film with Tanuj in the lead role of an unhappy investment banker. With a cast of fresh faces, the movie will involve a lot of jumps from various days between 1996 to 2008. It is slated to release on May 1. "It's a coming of age journey about a man. He is an investment banker living in New York. He is a very unhappy man.

He realises during the course of the film that he has taken many decisions in life which are not good," he said. "He then decides to try to change his past by going to his hometown in Kasauli. There is a lot of jumps from various days between 1996 to 2008," he added. However, portraying two separate lives was taxing for Tanuj. "It was quite a challenge. It's almost like I am playing a double role. So it was not just about altering your make-up, but your body language and acting," he said.

Before, venturing into Bollywood, Tanuj took up a course with popular acting guru Kishore Namit Kapoor to polish his skills. He also assisted the production of 2009's 'Aao Wish Karein' and Shahid Kapoor starrer 'Chance Pe Dance'.

"I have done a course with Kishore Namit Kapoor after that I assisted on a couple of films like 'Aao Wish Karein' and 'Chance Pe Dance'. I have made, directed and edited a lot of short films. It helped me to grow as an actor," he said. Being the son of a famous actress, Taunj feels that comparisons with his mother is inevitable. "If an actor thinks about those pressures and expectation it may take a toll on your performance. The comparisons with my mother is inevitable especially if she had the experience of the industry for 35 years," he said.

The actor insists his debut may not have done well at the box office but it helped him learn about his mistakes. "It taught me a lot. It was good in a way that I got to see something like that at the start of my career. I learnt many things from that movie and I have brought those changes too. But I think I was quite young when I did that film and I feel you look and kind of behave differently at that age," he said.

Tanuj hopes that he would win over the audience's heart with 'Purani Jeans'. "The feedback of the trailers and the song of the movie is great. People are appreciating it a lot. This is a film about two diverse characters. It is a very honest film. There is passion involved," he said. The actor is currently under three movie contract with Eros International, which is producing the film.