Avinash Wadhawan: Once a competition for Ajay Devgn, Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, actor Avinash Wadhawan left India after marriage, here’s what he’s doing now: ‘I shouldn’t have…’ Hindi Movie News

There was a time when Avinash Wadhawan was counted among Bollywood’s brightest rising stars. By the early 1990s, the actor was signing multiple films, sharing screen space with leading heroines in the industry, and was even working on projects that would later become milestones in his career. Ajay Devgn, Shah Rukh Khan i Akshay Kumar. However, while his contemporaries ruled Bollywood, Avinash gradually disappeared from the mainstream. Today, it is only occasionally seen on TV shows and OTT platforms. Here’s why the up-and-coming actor’s career took an unexpected turn.Interestingly, acting was not Avinash’s first career choice. He was an academically gifted student who consistently won scholarships during college, helping to ease his family’s financial burden. After completing his engineering degree from the Delhi School of Engineering, he planned to pursue an MBA. Although he got admission in IIM Lucknow, he eventually enrolled in the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management in Mumbai.It was during his MBA that fate intervened. A prominent fashion designer noticed him and offered him modeling assignments. What started as a side hustle soon turned into a blossoming career. In a year, Avinash had appeared in almost 67 advertisements, commercials and fashion shows. As modeling assignments increased, academic balance became impossible, forcing him to drop out after just two semesters.Determined to take part in films, Avinash prepared a video portfolio and sent it to various filmmakers. The bet paid off. After making his film debut in the late 1980s, he shot to fame with ‘Ayee Milan Ki Raat’, which became a commercial success and established him as a leading hero. Based on the popularity of the film, he starred in almost 17-18 films over the next four to five years, making him one of the busiest actors of the time.She acted in films like ‘Balmaa’, ‘Junoon’, ‘Dil Ki Baazi’, ‘Geet’ and ‘Papi Gudia’ alongside leading actresses like Divya Bharti, Zeba Bakhtiar, Juhi Chawla i Mamta Kulkarni. At the time, producers saw him as one of Bollywood’s most reliable young heroes, and he often competed for the same projects as actors who would later become superstars.However, while his professional life was on the rise, his personal life began to fall apart. Avinash got married in 1990 and became a father when he was still in his twenties. Over time, his personal struggles began to affect his work, which he later admitted was a huge mistake.Speaking to Siddharth Kannan in 2024, Avinash reflected on this phase and said, “I shouldn’t have let my personal problems affect my professional life. I left India and was spending my time in Vancouver and Los Angeles. I went to shoot a film and didn’t come back.”His long stay abroad kept him away from filmmakers and producers at a time when the Hindi film industry was evolving rapidly and opportunities were slipping away fast.During the same conversation, Avinash claimed that he had missed several films that later became iconic. According to him, he was originally offered ‘Phool Aur Kaante’ but after walking out of the project, it eventually marked Ajay Devgn’s blockbuster debut. He also revealed that he was considered for the role in ‘Deewana’ which eventually went to Shah Rukh Khan, but he turned it down due to dating issues as he wanted to concentrate only on solo hero films at the time.Another major opportunity slipped away with ‘Yeh Dillagi’. Avinash said he lost the project after arriving late for a meeting with filmmaker Yash Chopra, after which the role went to Saif Ali Khan alongside Akshay Kumar.The actor further stated that during 1991 and 1992, he was the preferred choice for several filmmakers and believed that he was professionally ahead of Ajay Devgn, Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar at that time. While these actors went on to become some of the biggest stars in Hindi cinema, Avinash’s career was losing momentum.Reflecting on the consequences of those missed opportunities, Avinash admitted that he was emotionally drained and decided to take a break from acting for almost two years. But when he finally returned, Bollywood had moved on. The leading roles had dried up, and despite making occasional appearances, he was never able to recapture the stardom he seemed destined for.As film offers started dwindling, Avinash found it difficult to accept the transition from a lead to a character actor. The change wasn’t easy, but shifting priorities eventually shaped his decisions. The actor has openly admitted that after remarrying, securing financial stability became more important than chasing stardom, leading him to turn to television for steady work.His last appearance on the big screen was in the 2018 film ‘Mausam Ikrar Ke Do Pal Pyaar Ke’. Most recently, she was seen in the JioHotstar special ‘Sangamarmar’, a romantic drama backed by Rajshree Productions with Sooraj Barjatya as the showrunner.Today, Avinash continues to be active across television, regional cinema and OTT platforms. Although he never regained the leader status he once enjoyed, he has continued to work steadily, adapting to the changing entertainment landscape. His career serves as a reminder of how unpredictable the film industry can be, where success depends not only on talent, but also on timing, personal choices and the ability to stay connected to the industry.