Actor-director duo, Tanuj Virwani and Karan Anshuman, come together in Rana Naidu 2

Tanuj Virwani and Karan Anshuman’s bond goes back to the days of Inside Edge. This actor-director partnership is built on mutual admiration and trust. When Karan Anshuman directorial Rana Naidu streamed in 2023, Tanuj was blown. He reached out to Karan and asked him to write a role for him in the subsequent show, howsoever small.

And now, the second season of the action-crime drama sees the duo come together. Tanuj plays Chirag Oberoi, an heir to family business. As he gets stuck with a deal, the star fixer, Rana Naidu (Rana Daggubati), is called. Will he make this deal or break it is what Season 2 is all about.

Busy promoting the show, Tanuj shares , “I see it as a privilege to be part of Rana Naidu and its incredible team!”

He started his career with Luv U Soniyo some 12 years ago and became part of films like Purani Jeans, One Night Stand, Yodha and Let’s Meet before he shifted his focus to OTT. He has web series like Inside Edge, Code M, Masaba Masaba, The Tattoo Murders, Tandoor, Cartel and Murshid to his credit. “I am the adventurous kind and love action and thriller genre more than anything,” he reveals.

Tanuj believes cinema and OTT can coexist. “There are stories that can only be made for big screen and there are stories that cannot fit into the 2-3 hour format,” he gives example of Paatal Lok, Sacred Games and Mirzapur. However, as an actor he is interested in his character, not the format. He feels that there is enough audience for both cinema and OTT. The only thing he sees on the downside is quantity taking over quality. “With new platforms mushrooming up, there is demand for content,” he says.

Tanuj preps for a role seriously. An ‘amateure writer’ that he calls himself, and uses his writing skills to pen a back-story for all his characters. “It gives me an outline as how to go about it!” But no, he is not taking writing seriously, not yet. It’s acting which gives him the satisfaction.

His real-life love story as filmy as his films. He knew Tanya Jacob as they were family friends. They continued their relationship even after she moved to Singapore. Since long-distance relationship was becoming tough to carry on, they decided to live-in for a year with the consent of their parents. “Being girlfriend-boyfriend is one thing, but only when you share a home, you know one’s pleasant and unpleasant side. The live-in period gave us time to iron out the chinks.”

Today, Tanuj is a man with changed priorities. As the only child, life was always about him. But post-marriage, his wife and daughter are now his priorities. “Changes happed at molecular level both consciously and subconsciously. Now, each decision I make, my family is a huge part of it.”He is kicked about not just about the show but also Father’s Day. “I was asking my mother how to make the day special for dad. She pointed out that it would be my day too. And it hit me – it will be my first!”

Tanuj has an actioner with Applause on the anvil. And two films, including Johnny Jumper, in which he plays the titular role. The other one is a romcom. “I thought it would be good change of pace to do a love story.”

Rana Naidu 2 will stream on June 13 on Netflix.