‘China Gate’ fame Mukesh Tiwari said, “For a long time, I was waiting for good stories and let go of mediocre roles.” Read on.

If you have seen the film ‘China Gate’, then you must remember the dreaded villain Jagira of that film. Yes, right! Actor Mukesh Tiwari, who played the character of Jagira, will be completing 25 years in the industry this November and has opened up about his experience in films and his upcoming projects. At present the ‘China Gate’ fame actor is busy with his upcoming projects, both in OTT and in the Southern film industries.

Talking about his upcoming work, the ‘Dahan’ actor, said, “For a long time, I was waiting for good stories and let go of mediocre roles. I feel, to be a seasoned performer we need to wait for right opportunities. Utavlepan main kaam kharab hota hai.”

Mukesh Tiwari told Hindustan Times, “No comparisons with anyone, I am really happy to be offered very good roles in Southern films. My thirst as an actor is being quenched with regional films for now. Currently, I am doing a Telugu film where I am playing antagonist along with actors Gopichand and M Nassar. It is directed by A Harsha with whom I did a Kannada film Anjani Putra (2017) starring Puneeth Rajkumar.”

The actor expressed that he feels if the audience is openly accepting Southern films, then it’s time for the Hindi industry to think about its approach in order to cater to a wider audience. He added, “If you notice, villains have vanished from Hindi cinema. We are catering to metro audience, but we need to rethink about places where 80% of India lives. Regional makers are working on script and production big time, their stories are rooted, they have a hero and villain and weave stories around relationships, society and family. We (Hindi industry) have drifted from stories from our samaj (society) and parivaar (family). In a bid to show new realism and advanced society we are losing our social fabric.”

“Hindi audience have given me a lot of love. More than my negative roles, Valsooli Bhai (Golmaal) gave me unbelievable popularity and recognition. I am a zero PR person. I strongly believe you produce wheat through wheat so work results in more work,” he further added.

Tiwari is also quite serious and excited about OTT as a few of his OTT releases have been well-received by the audience. The actor said, “Web shows Dahan and Garmi were widely watched in Hindi heartland, Bawaal is still trending. Films are in their place but on OTT you get better exposure as the reach is wider and one does not have to buy tickets! Kaam to karte hain sabhi but it’s important that it’s watched – else jungle mein mor nacha kisne dekha!”

On the work front, Mukesh Tiwari will be next seen in Hansal Mehta‘s Scam 2003 and film Ground Zero that was shot in Jammu and Kashmir and Hari Om Hari that was shot in Varanasi. Apart from these, the actor is also busy shooting for Hindi projects along with several Telugu, Tamil and Kannada films.