Saroj Khan had a nickname for him when he was a participant on the 2010 reality show, Dance Sangram. The late choreographer was appreciative of Avinash Dwivedi’s “Robotics Steps” and gave him her signature blessings—Rs 101—three times during the competition. “She called me ‘Akshay Jackson’ because I would integrate the dance styles of Akshay Kumar and Michael Jackson in my performances,” he shares
The small town boy had just arrived in Mumbai and was so intimidated by the lights and the whole atmosphere on set that once he even forgot his act when performing before Saroj Khan. “Masterji boosted my confidence, encouraged me like a mother,” he says gratefully.
Avinash went on to win the show and still remembers the confusion of sudden fame. “I’ll never forget that moment, seeing myself as the winner on television, and all the attention I got after my name was announced,” he flashbacks, admitting he now wants to judge a show like Dance Plus, his current favourite.
Meanwhile, 11 years later, he’s gearing up for a music video, Kahani, which should release by the month end. “I had got so busy with acting, writing, vlogging and comedy sketches that I was not able to give time to dance all these years. That was my main reason for accepting this music video. Once a dancer, always a dancer,” Avinash asserts.
The song brings “Shuffle Steps”, a dance form trending on social media, into the music video format. “I’ve not seen anyone do this in an Indian song. A few weeks ago, the director, Imraan Furniturewala, approached me and when I heard the song, I felt ‘Shuffle Steps’ would work well with it. Imraan bhai liked the idea too. It was not a challenge as such, but yes, we were uncertain about how the steps would look on camera,” he confides.
Avinash is delighted with the end result even though the steps had to be done twice and required plenty of coordination. “Sometimes I went wrong with my timing, sometimes it was my co-star Nishita Mitra or the other dancers. On occasions, the Director of Photography lost focus, because the pace and movements were so fast. There were multiple takes and retakes and it was difficult to come up with the same energy every time while holding our expressions,” he sighs, recalling how by the time he got home, his knees were literally locked despite being a trained dancer.
To add to his discomfort, wife Sambhavna Seth landed up on set with his parents without informing Avinash. “I was so conscious because my parents were watching, but that turned out to be my best shot of the day,” he laughs.
A bigger challenge was Rickshawallah, written and directed by Ram Kamal Mukherjee, in which Avinash played the lead role and despite all the workshops to learn the technique of pulling a rickshaw, faltered. The lanes of Kolkata are narrow and the rickshaw is wide from the rear with the result that he would knock down parked bikes and cycles and sometimes stuff kept outside the shops triggering heated arguments. “There is also a difference between pulling an empty rickshaw and one with one or two passengers in it, the balance changes,” the actor reasons, informing that his house in the film belonged to a real rickshawala and he literally lived his character.
Another challenging assignment was a commercial for yantra.com in which he played a student leader. “I was shouting for almost 12 hours and then, had to drink lots of hot water to clear my throat for the dialogue portions which we did later. I love politics, but after this, I don’t think I want to get into it,” Avinash chuckles.
Prod him about Sambhavna and he describes her as a “supportive partner”. They have been vlogging together on their YouTube channel and now they want to do a dance reality show or a music video together. Doesn’t being in the same profession create rifts at times? He denies, saying there’s no ego at play in this relationship. “Sambhavna is my strength, my audience and critic. She can be brutally honest about my work, but I know it’s 100 per cent genuine and helpful to me,” he asserts.
Would he want to enter the Bigg Boss House like his better half some day? At the moment Avinash is not interested in a 3-4 months commitment, but at the same time, he says it’s a good way to know yourself better. “Sambhavna tells me how sometimes your brain stops functioning and you lose control because of the psychological games being played all the time. It’s like being on autopilot; you know you are wrong and still cannot stop yourself. If I get an offer, I will take a call then,” he muses, adding that he would also love to do a Khatron Ke Khiladi to get over his phobia of insects.
For now, he has some music videos lined up, a web series and a film, Colour Black. There are also some writing assignments. Avinash has written a horror comedy for Ronnie Screwvala, Kakuda, which is currently being shot with Sonakshi Sinha and Riteish Deshmukh. “First, I wrote the story, then, the screenplay, followed by multiple drafts. It took me around four months,” says Avinash, describing it as a roller-coaster ride, full of fun and fear.
He won’t elaborate on the title as it encapsulates the mystery in the plot, but admits they have kept it deliberately eerie, to make people curious about the meaning. “As a genre, horror comedies have not been explored much, but I’ve always been intrigued by the stories my dadi and nani would tell me as a child. Those stories inspire me now. If I get an opportunity, I would love to write a full-fledged horror story, that genre has its own space and dedicated audience,” he signs off.
