Tanuj Virwani, reflects on his experience shooting for his second film, Purani Jeans, with Subhash K Jha as it clocks 11 years since it released.
Tanuj, 11 years of Purani Jeans?
Wow, firstly, I cannot believe it’s been 11 years already, Sir. Purani Jeans was supposed to be my first film and was to be directed by Ravi Chopra (the Baghban director), but owing to his ill health, it got scrapped. I went on and did another film.
How was Purani Jean revived?
A year later, I got a call from Eros Entertainment saying the film was being revived. Obviously, I was over the moon. The only difference was that earlier, I was playing the role of Sam, played by Aditya Seal. Now, they wanted me to play the role of Sid Ray.
What was it like shooting for this breezy young film?
All of us were young, no acting there. Making the film was a lot of fun as we were a young and super-charged cast. I had some terrific times with the team shooting in Simla, Manali, and Chandigarh.
I believe the shooting was completed in record time.
We practically shot the film start to finish barring the New York schedule which happened later. Our director made sure Aditya and I bonded so that the bond was fresh and real and the chemistry translated on screen.
The senior cast, were they helpful?
We were also blessed to have some tremendous senior actors like Rajit Kapoor and Sarika Ma’am. Not to forget my mother (Rati Agnihotri) who did a cameo in the film as well.
Were you disappointed when the film didn’t do well?
I was initially disappointed by the response that the film got. I had high hopes from this one and the music had been accepted in a big way. However, time has been kind to this film, and even today, I get messages about new audiences that continue to discover and connect with the material. As they say, art lives on forever.
