Exclusive! Khakee: The Bihar Chapter's Avinash Tiwary on Shraddha Walker's murder: Actors can't take responsibility for what people are inspired by

The actor plays a criminal, named Chandan Mahto, in the series that is streaming on Netflix

Avinash Tiwary

Revelations from Delhi's Aftab Poonawala and Shraddha Walker murder case — that the murderer accused Aftab found inspiration from the crime thriller web series Dexter and Bollywood film Drishyam on how to kill and hide a dead body, and clean up the crime scene — have shocked everyone. This has shifted the focus on the impact that on-screen violence can have on people.

According to reports, Aftab admitted to the Delhi police that he is a fan of the American crime series Dexter and that he has also watched the Ajay Devgn-starrer Drishyam to learn how to plan a murder and clean up the crime scene afterward.

In recent times, there have been multiple web series with violence. The recently-released crime-drama series Khakee: The Bihar Chapter is one such. Avinash Tiwary plays a criminal named Chandan Mahto in the show, so we asked him about the impact of such shows on audiences, and what the responsibility is of an actor in such situations.

Avinash told OTTplay, "As an actor, it is my responsibility to play the part convincingly, with the intention to deliver a believable performance. Our work ends there and the job of the audience starts from there — which character they take home or what choice that they make or get inspired by...that cannot be our responsibility."

He elaborated, "If, after watching my film Laila Manju, a guy decides to fall in love with a girl like Majnu did in the film, it's his choice. In Khakee: The Bihar Chapter, there is an honest, dedicated police officer like Amit Lodha and a criminal like Chandan Mahto. The audience has the choice to get inspired by Amit or Chandan. A show maker or actor cannot be responsible for any choice that the audience makes. As long as we do not glorify the crime, rather punish the criminal in the harshest manner in the show or film, I think we are on the right track."

Avinash adds that while making Khakee... the makers were cautious that even though violence is shown in it, they stayed away from using abusive language unnecessarily. "In today's time it is rare for a web series, especially a crime-thriller like ours, where abusive words are avoided in dialogues. We opted to self-censor and show reality, without sensationalising it. We only can be careful that way," said the actor.

Created by Neeraj Pandey and directed by Bhav Dhulia, Khakee: The Bihar Chapter also stars Karan Tacker, Jatin Sarna, Ashutosh Rana, Aishwarya Sushmita, Shraddha Das, Nikita Dutta, Vinay Pathak and Anup Soni. It is streaming on Netflix.

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