Anand Tiwari

Anand Tiwari (born 29 May 1983) is an Indian actor, producer, writer, lyricist and director known for his work in Hindi films. He has appeared in films like Kites, Udaan (2010), Aisha (2010), and Go Goa Gone (2013). For the latter, he was nominated for a Filmfare OTT Awards for Best Original Story.

Early and personal life Tiwari grew up in a family of doctors, in Matunga, Mumbai. He started acting in small roles in Marathi theatre in the local Ganpati and Navratri festivals. He frequented Shivaji Mandir in Dadar to watch plays, and also started attending summer acting workshops at his school. Subsequently, he completed his bachelor's in mass media, with a major in advertising, from the University of Mumbai in 2004.

Career

Acting career Tiwari started his career in 2008 by acting in television commercials for brands like Citibank, Jet Airways, Tanishq, Tata ACE and DISH TV. He then transitioned into theatre in Mumbai, working in plays like Dreams of Taleem directed by Sunil Shanbag and Rage Theatre's One On One (2010).

Tiwari made his acting debut in Bollywood by playing small roles in several films including Slumdog Millionaire (2008), The President Is Coming (2009), Udaan (2010) and Kites (2010). He then appeared in supporting roles in the ensemble romantic comedy-drama Aisha (2010) directed by Rajshree Ojha and Go Goa Gone (2013), a zombie action comedy film directed by Raj and D.K.

Directing career Tiwari worked as assistant director for Anurag Basu's film Barfi! (2012)

Tiwari made his directorial debut with the 2018 film Love Per Square Foot. Tiwari who wrote the script in 2010, along with Sumeet Vyas, was originally set to make into a dark film but later decided to turn it into a romantic comedy. Originally scheduled for a theatrical release, Anand Tiwari eventually sent the film's final cut to the executives of Netflix India, who approved to release the film online. Thus it became the first Indian film to be released directly on a streaming platform. The film was screened at the Beijing International Film Festival, held in China in April 2019.

In 2020, Tiwari created, produced and directed the web series Bandish Bandits along with Amritpal Singh Bindra. The series feature debutants Ritwik Bhowmik as Radhe Rathod, a Hindustani Classical musician and Shreya Chaudhary as Tamanna Sharma, a pop singer, who hail from different worlds of music. Exploring the debate of music being a discipline versus a means of liberation. Bandish Bandits released on 4 August 2020, through Amazon Prime Video. It received positive response from critics and audiences, praising the performances of the cast, writing and direction, songs and background score. It was listed by critics as one of the best Indian television shows of 2020. The series was nominated for seven Filmfare OTT Awards including Best Original Story for Tiwari.

Filmography

As actor

YearFilm RoleNotes 2008 R(evolution) Feroz Mumbai Meri Jaan Drug Addict Boy Slumdog Millionaire Newsreader 2009 The President Is Coming Kapil Dev Dholakia 2010 Udaan Mishter Apu Fair Game Hafiz Kites Robin Aisha Saurabh Lamba The Film Emotional Atyachar Hiten Sardesai 2011 Jo Dooba So Paar: It's Love in Bihar! Kishu 2012 Go Goa Gone Bunny 2013 What the Fish Neerav 2014 Dishkiyaoon Rocky Finding Fanny Father Francis English film Charlie Kay Chakkar Mein Dips 2015 Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! Ajit Banerjee 2020 Chhapaak Bajaj Husband 2021 Nail Polish Amit Kumar ZEE5 Originals film 2024 Ae Watan Mere Watan Firdaus Engineer Amazon Prime Video film

As director

YearFilm Notes 2012 Neighbours Short film 2013 Haircut Short film 2018 Love per Square Foot Netflix film 2022 Maja Ma Amazon Prime Video film 2024 Bad Newz

Television Year Film Actor Director Producer Writer Notes2015 Bang Baaja Baarat Web series Sumit Sambhal Lega Sitcom 2016 Sex Chat with Pappu & Papa Web series 2018 Gabru: Hip Hop Ke Shehzaade 2020 Bandish Bandits