There’s something quietly frustrating about watching Avinash Tiwary’s career unfold. Not because he lacks talent, but because he has too much of it to be this overlooked.
Tiwary did not debut in the industry with a bang; rather, he started off with very few people recognizing him, despite having roles in both Suno Na.. Ek Nanhi Awaaz (2009) and the TV show, Yudh, with incredibly well-known actors (some of whom had celebrity status), and also playing a supporting role in a somewhat lesser-known indie film, Tu Hai Mera Sunday. He was visible, but not quite seen.
That changed, at least momentarily, with Laila Majnu.
Tiwary’s performance as Majnu in the film Laila Majnu was amazing and incredibly real. The kind of performance that lingers long after the credits roll. In fact, when Laila Majnu was re-released years later, audiences finally caught up to what had been missed the first time. Social media was filled with positive feedback about Avinash’s role. He was being talked about like a discovery. Ironically, he had been there all along.
But here’s where the story takes a familiar, slightly unfair turn.
While co-star Triptii Dimri has had significant attention following Animal, Avinash’s trajectory has simply not matched the momentum that his performance warranted. The industry briefly celebrated Tiwary; however, it subsequently hesitated with what direction to take his career in. And that’s the crux of the problem.
Avinash Tiwary isn’t struggling because he lacks ability, but rather he is simply stuck due to being sent scripts that do not align with the breadth of acting ability that he possesses. The pattern of casting him in safe or mediocre projects has been painfully obvious, and Tiwary’s career stagnation has resulted from under-appreciation by the industry.
The next step in this journey for Tiwary is Ginny Weds Sunny 2, a feature film that is slated to release on April 24th, 2026, in a comedic genre that should ideally reach a significant audience commercially. But if we’re being honest, the trailer hasn’t exactly inspired confidence. There is nothing that would indicate the project is anything more than a standard rom-com with no uniqueness to be found, therefore making it a wasted opportunity for Tiwary.
And that raises an uncomfortable question: how many more “okay” films can a truly good actor afford?
Every “disappointing” project carries with it a different kind of risk than just the possibility of a poor box office. This risk is about how Bollywood and the audience will view the actor; the industry has a very selective memory when it comes to recognizing nuance. An actor can be viewed as “amazing” one day and then “forgettable” the next, simply because they have been associated with too many poor projects.
In Tiwary’s case, he has simply become more aware of this reality over the years. He has alluded to the changing attitudes Bollywood has had toward him in interviews (e.g., how he was once dismissed, then suddenly sought after post Laila Majnu). That contradiction illustrates more about the Bollywood industry than about Tiwary.
The truth is, Avinash Tiwary doesn’t require anyone to validate his abilities anymore; he has established that for himself through his body of work. Instead, he needs filmmakers who have faith in him to develop stories specifically for him rather than just fit him into pre-existing molds. Because actors like him don’t fail, they’re failed by the ecosystem around them.
Ginny Weds Sunny 2 could still surprise us by resonating with audiences enough to give the actor the commercial success he was looking for, or it could result in a huge disappointment. But if it doesn’t, the bigger disappointment won’t be another lukewarm film; it will be the continued underutilization of one of Bollywood’s most quietly powerful performers.
And at some point, that stops being unfortunate and starts becoming inexcusable.
