Mumbai: *Actor Avinash Wadhawan, who is known for playing lead roles in films like Aayee Milan ki Raat, Meera Ka Mohan, Junoon, Geet, Balmaa, Dil Ki Baazi, Paapi Gudia & many more… was on top of the popularity charts in early 90s & used to charge more than his contemporaries, a busy actor of his time.
Born as Rakesh kumar Wadhawan, he completed his Civil Engineering from Delhi College of Engineering… came to Mumbai to pursue MBA but destiny had other plans for him. He started his career as a model, changed his name, and debuted as Avinash Wadhawan, in a film Awaaz De Kahan Hai. Though this movie, which also starred Miss India Shikha Swaroop, did not go well at the box office, during the shooting of this film he got his next opportunity- Gulshan Kumar’s Aayee Milan Ki Raat. Avinash who has been in the industry for 36 years now, shares how he has seen success and failure in his life.
He says,”Right from my student days I was quite inclined towards acting on stage… & facing camera became my passion during my modeling days. That’s the reason when I first faced camera on the film set I was never nervous. Although Awaaz De Kahan Hai didn’t work but, fortunately, during the making of this film, I met K.Pappu & Gulshan Kumar. They wanted to see my work for their next project. I remember I used to own a motor bike and during a rainy day I traveled from Andheri to Worli to get hold of the rushes of my first film so that I could show it to them. They liked my performance in the reels and signed me for Ayee Milan Ki Raat and then later Gulshanji signed me for two more movies- Meera Ka Mohan & Ghar Aaya Mera Pardesi.
So, when I look back at my journey, I feel I was blessed, because without having any Godfather in the industry I got good films.”
Avinash, who used to be contemporaries of actors like Akshay Kumar, Shahrukh and Ajay Devan could never be the next superstar. When asked about it, he says, ”Not once, but I have been asked this question many times. There were many reasons and also destiny. I was offered Ajay Devgn’s Phool Aur Kaante, Shah Rukh Khan’s role in Deewana… both these roles I refused due to many reasons. After Mahesh Bhatt’s JUNOON, I was offered his SIR, again opposite Pooja Bhatt, but lost out due to my secretary’s manipulation. I was finalised for Akshaye Khaana’s role in Border but I was unceremoniously dropped at the last moment. Yash Chopra ji wanted to cast me as one of the two heroes in Yeh Dillagi & personally called me to his office but somehow I couldn’t reach on that particular day. It was too late by the time I went there.”
Avinash further says, “ Even though I lost out on these plum projects, I still had some excellent films which did very well at the box-office. They were directed by renowned directors like Mahesh Bhatt, Partho Ghosh, K.C. Bokadia, Lawrence D’Souza, Anil Ganguly, Ashok Gaikwad etc. I was also paired opposite almost all the top heroines of that era right from Pooja Bhatt to Ayesha Jhulka, Bhagyashree, Divya Bharti, Karishma Kapoor, Nagma, Madhoo and many more. Few films did excellent business, few average and few did not work. But the main hurdles in my career were my own personal setbacks, my unsettled marriage… which affected me emotionally to such an extent that I lost ambition… didn’t want to be in Mumbai… & I started taking reckless & absurd decisions. And, I blame myself for all this fiasco. These are the things in your life which you can’t explain but you can feel.”
Avinash finally separated from his first wife. He says, ”I remember I went to Canada for some shoot and did not want to come back. I stayed there for quite sometime… also in U.S. & London… I remember when I used to call my parents, they frantically used to ask me when I’m going to be back. I couldn’t answer that. Those days there were no mobile phones so producers used to call my secretary or on my home landline and ask about me. And the answer they got was, ”Avinash is out of India.”
Avinash also mentioned he didn’t have any mentor or godfather in his life who could actually guide him or advise him against his erratic decisions. “I wish someone could pull my ear and tell me that what I was doing was wrong. I was roaming abroad, did not want to be in Mumbai. Work took the backseat. I was in a different world and all these things pulled me back. Instead of reaching the stars, my own decisions pulled me down.”
Today, though he’s busy shooting for various TV & Web projects… & financially very secure, he got deprived of the superstardom, which was actually just one step away from his reach.
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