Avinash Wadhawan in a video. (courtesy: YouTube)
Avinash Wadhawan has opened up about his journey in the industry. In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, the actor revealed that he turned down the role of Raja Sahi in the 1992 film Deewana, which was later played by Shah Rukh Khan. Avinash revealed that he was the first choice for Deewana. He said, “Raju [filmmaker Raj Kanwar] mujhse milne aya. Booaton baaton mein usne mujhe bola ki mujhe film ka offer aya hai as a director. There are 3 producers. Hum ek film produce kar rahe hai jisme there are 2 heroes. Rishi Kapoor ji has already been signed. Aur ek nayi ladki hai Divya Bharti usko we are taking and the second hero is not yet finalised. Aur Avinash main tujhse milne aya hu, us role ke liye. [Raju [filmmaker Raj Kanwar] came to meet me. During our conversation, he mentioned that he had received an offer for a film as a director. There are 3 producers. We are producing a film in which there are 2 heroes. Rishi Kapoor ji has already been signed. And there is a new girl, Divya Bharti, whom we are casting, and the second hero has not yet been finalised. Avinash, I have come to meet you for that role.]”
After that, Avinash Wadhawan talked about how during lunchtime Raj Kanwar narrated the story of the film. The actor continued, “Maine usko bola ki Raju second hero ki to entry interval ke just pehle hai. [I told him that Raju, the entry of the second hero, is just before the interval.] The whole film focused on Rishi Kapoor and Divya Bharti. So I said yaar I am doing all solo hero films at this moment. Aur Rishi Ji ki bahut respect karta hu mai. Mere bahut favourite rahe hai vo. Unki sab filmein maine dekhi hai. Mujhe aise lagta hai ki wo mere se age-wise bade lgengey. [And I have a lot of respect for Rishi Ji. He has always been one of my favourites. I have watched all his films. I feel that he will appear older than me age-wise.] He tried to convince me ki nahi nahi Avinash, you do it. You know Deewana, you are playing the title role. He was forcing Me to do that role. He was trying his best ki mai haan boldu. [that I say yes to the project.]”
Then, Avinash Wadhawan discussed various other reasons why he could not sign that film. He mentioned that his dates were already booked with Bokdia ji (filmmaker K.C. Bokadia Kistur Chand Bokadia), and he had to travel to Chennai for 10 days, followed by a shoot in Mahabaleshwar for the filming of Shohrat's songs. He continued, “Mere secretary se meri baat hui. Mere secretary ne mujhe bola ki Avinash abhi ham koi nayi film sign ni kar sakte. Agar koi sign karne ke liye aayega to tell him ki next year se hum dates de sakte hai…I said Raju mere paas dates ka bhi issue aa raha hai. I can give you dates after 12 months. Abhi mai dates bhi ni de paauga. Kyuki abhi meri 8 filmein already floor pe hai. So I will not be able to give you time also. [ I had a conversation with my secretary. My secretary told me that Avinash, we cannot sign any new film right now. If someone approaches us for signing, tell them that we can provide dates from next year onwards... I said to Raju that I am facing issues with dates. I can give you dates after 12 months. Right now, I won't be able to provide you with any dates because I already have 8 films in progress. So, I will not be able to allocate time for your project as well.]”
Talking about how Shah Rukh Khan ended up with the role, Avinash Wadhawan stated, “Then he went to other people. Then finally I think Divya only suggested Shah Rukh. Divya knew Shah Rukh. He got him introduced to Raj Kanwar and that's how they signed it.”
Avinash Wadhawan also shared how he lost the opportunity to feature in the 1994 film Yeh Dillagi due to arriving late at Yash Chopra's office. He recounted, “Mein vo jo gaana tha Ole Ole, that song was shot on Saif Ali Khan. Perhaps, that was the role he wanted to offer me, if not Akshay Kumar. Kyuki mujhe baad mein pata lga ki Akshay Kumar was already finalised mujhse pehle. [ The song Ole Ole, which featured Saif Ali Khan, was possibly the role Yash Chopra wanted to offer me, if not Akshay Kumar. Because later I found out that Akshay Kumar had already been finalised before me.] So he wanted to sign me for that role.”
Avinash Wadhawan has worked in many films such as Gunda Mawali, Papi Gudia, and Phool Bane Patthar.