Tanuj on triple duty! To direct, produce, act in his short film, Anisht

Tanuj Virwani

Tanuj Virwani has been spending the lockdown at his Lonavala farmhouse. Besides sifting through scripts to zero in on his next, the actor has been trying his hand at filmmaking. After his first short film Urban Incarceration, he has produced and directed Anisht, the second offering in the trilogy. "When I decided to get into show business, the initial plan was to delve into writing or direction. I never thought I would be facing the camera one day," says the Inside Edge actor. As much as he enjoys juggling the three distinct roles, he admits, "I think it is a bit counter-productive to have your finger in too many pies."

The central idea behind Anisht is to showcase what goes around, comes around. "In the opening sequence, you see a guy holding someone at gunpoint; cut to the end, the tables have turned," says the actor-director, who describes his project as a "hybrid of a crime saga and horror."

Making a short film during the lockdown is no mean feat. Virwani roped in his staff to play pivotal roles and "shared acting notes" with them. "It will always be a little harder to direct inexperienced actors, but they did an admirable job. [As the actor, director and producer on the project] my biggest learning from this experience is that no matter how much you plan, what matters is your instinct at that moment. As a director, you have to find a way to stitch it all together."

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