By Subhash K. Jha
Mumbai, Aug 19 (IANS): Avinash Tiwari, who played Azad Shatru, the main villain in the Amitabh Bachchan starrer TV series "Yudh", says prior to the show his experience was limited to doing short films and ads.

"Yudh", the 20-episode finite series that went off air recently, has led to curiosity about Avinash.

"Prior to 'Yudh' I had done nothing worth mentioning. My experience was limited to doing short films and advertisements," he said.

A trained actor from the New York Film Academy, when he auditioned for the role and bagged it, Avinash had no clue he was finally going to be the main villain.

"When I was called for a meeting about the role all I was told was about the climax. I had no clue about the importance of my role to the plot. I was just happy to accept the part because I felt I had enough opportunity to grab some eyeballs through my character.

"When I auditioned, I did a small scene, which was edited out of the serial. I had no idea I was auditioning for the show," he said.

It was later that Avinash figured out the graph of his character. And he was zapped.

Avinash played a cold blooded murderer, but he doesn't consider the character a villain.

"I don't think of my character as negative. He is justified within his mind for taking his revenge," he said.

Avinash is now open to playing the antagonist in other serials. "If I can similarly empathise with other characters as well, I will do them," he said.

Meanwhile Avinash is surprised by the faith that the makers of the series showed in his abilities.

"Honestly, I can't thank them enough. They gave me complete freedom to do the role the way I wanted to," he said.

Produced by Endemol India and Saraswati Creations, "Yudh" was directed by Ribhu Dasgupta.