Paresh Rawal

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Paresh Rawal
Paresh Rawal in 2011
Chairperson of National School of Drama
Assumed office
September 2020
Preceded byRatan Thiyam
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
26 May 2014 – 23 May 2019
Preceded byHarin Pathak
Succeeded byHasmukh Patel
ConstituencyAhmedabad East
Personal details
Born (1955-05-30) 30 May 1955 (age 68)[1]
Bombay, Bombay State, India
(present-day Mumbai, Maharashtra)[2]
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party
Alma materNarsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics
Occupation
  • Actor
  • film producer
  • politician
  • comedian[3]
Years active1982–present
Spouse
(m. 1987)
Children2, including Aditya Rawal
HonoursPadma Shri (2014)

Paresh Rawal (born 30 May 1955) is an Indian actor, comedian,[4] film producer and politician known for his works primarily in Hindi films. He has appeared in over 240 films and is the recipient of various accolades. In 1994, he won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in the films Woh Chokri and Sir.[5] For the latter, he received his first Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role. This was followed by Ketan Mehta's Sardar, which saw him playing the lead role of freedom fighter Vallabhbhai Patel, a role that got him national and international acclaim.[5] He was honoured with Padma Shri from the Government of India in 2014.

His other notable works in Hindi cinema are Arjun (1985), Naam (1986), Shiva (1990), Mohra (1994), Tamanna (1996), China Gate (1998), Aitraaz (2004), Table No. 21 (2013) and Zilla Ghaziabad (2013).[5] He has received recognition for his villain roles in Telugu box office hits such as Kshana Kshanam (1991), Money (1993), Money Money (1995), Govinda Govinda (1994), Rikshavodu (1995), Bavagaru Bagunnara (1998).

Rawal has gained acclaim for his comedy and few intense supporting roles in Hindi films, as some of his notable roles are in Andaz Apna Apna (1994), Chachi 420 (1997), Hera Pheri (2000), Nayak (2001), Aankhen (2002), Awara Paagal Deewana (2002), Hungama (2003), Garam Masala (2005), Phir Hera Pheri (2006), Chup Chup Ke (2006), Malamaal Weekly (2006), Welcome (2007), Mere Baap Pehle Aap (2008), Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! (2008), De Dana Dan (2009), Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge? (2010), Ready (2010), OMG (2012), Welcome Back (2015), Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), Sanju (2018), Uri (2019). His most remembered role is of Baburao Ganpatrao Apte in the cult classic Hera Pheri comedy franchise, and he also appeared in Tamil film Soorarai Pottru (2020).

Personal life[edit]

Rawal with his wife Swaroop Sampat at the screening of the film Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!

Rawal was born and raised in Bombay (present-day Mumbai) to a Gujarati family.[2][6]

In 1987, Rawal married Swaroop Sampat, an actress and winner of the Miss India contest in 1979.[7] Paresh and Swaroop have two sons, Aditya and Anirudh. He is an alumnus of Narsee Monjee College of Commerce & Economics, Vile Parle, Mumbai.[8]

Career[edit]

Rawal made his debut with the 1985 film Arjun in a supporting role. He was also part of the cast of the Doordarshan TV Serial, Bante Bigadte. It was the 1986 blockbuster Naam that established him as an actor with great talent. He then appeared in over 100 films throughout the 1980s and 1990s, mostly as the main villain, such as in Roop ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, Kabzaa, King Uncle, Ram Lakhan, Daud, Baazi and so many more. In the 1990s, he also starred in the cult comedy Andaz Apna Apna in which he played a double role. Rawal was perceived as a character actor by both audiences and critics until the 2000 Bollywood cult classic Hera Pheri, after which he starred in many Hindi mainstream films as a lead actor or main protagonist. Rawal played the dim-witted, boisterous and kind-hearted Marathi landlord Baburao Ganpatrao Apte in the film Hera Pheri, who takes in Raju (Akshay Kumar) and Shyam (Sunil Shetty) as paying guests in his house. Rawal's acting was a key reason for the major nationwide success the film received.[9] For his performance, he won the Filmfare Best Comedian Award. He reprised his role as Baburao in the sequel to the film Phir Hera Pheri (2006), which was also successful.[5]

Another notable lead role came in 2002 when Rawal portrayed one of three blind bank robbers in the hit film Aankhen, co-starring Amitabh Bachchan, Aditya Pancholi, Akshay Kumar, Arjun Rampal and Sushmita Sen. Rawal, for the remainder of the 2000s, was seen in mainly comedy oriented multi-starrers, mostly amongst the lead protagonists such as in Awara Paagal Deewana (2002), Hungama (2003), Hulchul (2004), Garam Masala (2005), Deewane Huye Paagal (2005), Malamaal Weekly (2006), Golmaal: Fun Unlimited (2006), Chup Chup Ke (2006), Bhagam Bhag (2007), Shankar Dada MBBS (Telugu), Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Welcome, Mere Baap Pehle Aap (2008) and De Dana Dan (2009).[5] In 2010, Rawal acted in the movie Aakrosh, based on honour killing.[10]

Rawal with Akshay Kumar on the sets of the film OMG: Oh My God!

In 2012, Rawal played the lead role in the movie OMG – Oh My God!. Akshay Kumar was seen supporting him, and both won rave reviews for their roles. He has also had a very successful acting career in Gujarati plays, the latest one being Dear Father. For television he has produced several Hindi soaps including Zee TV's Teen Bahuraaniyaan, Sahara One's Main Aisi Kyunn Hoon and Colors' Laagi Tujhse Lagan.[11]

His latest notable release is Rajkumar Hirani's Sanju with Ranbir Kapoor. He plays actor Sunil Dutt's role in the movie. He is also reprising his role as Baburao Ganpatrao Apte in Hera Pheri 3 which was going to be released in 2024,[12] but is 'on hold' as of May 2023.[13]

On 10 September 2020 he was appointed as the chief of the National School of Drama, by the President of India[14]

In 2021, Rawal appeared in sports drama Toofaan, a film directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, alongside Farhan Akhtar, who is playing a national level boxer. The film was streamed worldwide on 16 July 2021 on Amazon Prime Video.[15]

His other upcoming films are Welcome To The Jungle , Hera Pheri 3[16] and The Storyteller in which he will portray Satyajit Ray's famous character Tarini Khuro.[17][18][19]

Politics[edit]

He won as the Bharatiya Janata Party's Member of Parliament (MP) from Ahmedabad East constituency in the 2014 Indian general election. In 2014, he was awarded Padma Shri.[20][21]

2014 Indian general elections: Ahmedabad East[22][23]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
BJP Paresh Rawal 633,582 64.29 +10.92
INC Himmatsingh Patel 306,949 31.15 -7.82
AAP Dinesh Vaghela 11,349 1.15 N/A
BSP Rohit Rajubhai Virjubhai 6,023 0.61 -0.60
NOTA None of the Above 14,358 1.46 N/A
Majority 326,633 33.14 +18.74
Turnout 985,525 61.52 +19.20
BJP hold Swing +10.92

Controversy[edit]

On 21 May 2017, Rawal tweeted addressing an incident where the Indian Army tied a Kashmiri stone pelter as a human shield on an army jeep: "Instead of tying stone pelter on the army jeep, tie Arundhati Roy."[24] It was presumed that he wanted Roy to be used as a human shield.[25] Rawal's tweet provoked controversy. He was criticised by fellow actor Swara Bhaskar.[26] Rawal was also criticised by Congress leader Shobha Ojha.[27] while filmmaker Ashoke Pandit supported his tweet.[26]

If she is right, then even I am right. If she regrets making the comments, then I also regret. Agreed that this is fake news, but what about the comments that she made on 2002 Godhra riots? If you have freedom of expression then even I have it.

- Rawal (in July 2017) while addressing the tweet controversy.[28]

Filmography[edit]

Awards and honours[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Paresh Rawal turns 64. PM Narendra Modi gives actor the best birthday gift". India Today. 30 May 2019. Archived from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  2. ^ a b Tarannum, Asira (2 August 2011). "'Star kids are not good actors'". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  3. ^ Khurana, Akarsh (3 November 2018). "Ode to irreverence". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2019 – via www.thehindu.com.
  4. ^ "Ode to irreverence". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Paresh Rawal". Yahoo.com Won 2 national awards for Woh Chokri & Sir. Archived from the original on 23 June 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  6. ^ "From Sanjay Leela Bhansali to Paresh Rawal; Gujarati's who made it big in Bollywood". The Times of India. 5 July 2019. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Paresh Rawal says wife Swaroop was his boss' daughter, reveals how he proposed: 'Don't do this futile exercise with me'". Hindustan Times. 26 October 2021. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  8. ^ "UMANG 2010, Inter-Collegiate Culture Festival, Narsee Monjee college". Archived from the original on 4 January 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  9. ^ "Box Office 2000". BoxOfficeIndia.Com. Archived from the original on 11 August 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  10. ^ Pais, Arthur J (15 October 2010). "Honour killing is a dishonour to any society". Rediff. Archived from the original on 19 October 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  11. ^ "Best from Paresh Rawal has yet to come". News 24. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  12. ^ "Hera Pheri 3 confirmed, to reunite Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and Paresh Rawal". The Indian Express. 23 May 2018. Archived from the original on 24 November 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  13. ^ Raghuvanshi, Aakanksha (19 May 2020). "Suniel Shetty Shares An Update About Hera Pheri 3". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  14. ^ "Paresh Rawal appointed as chief of National School of Drama". Hindustan Times. 10 September 2020. Archived from the original on 10 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  15. ^ Jha, Subhash K. (10 March 2021). "Farhan Akhtar's pugilist drama Tofaan to release on OTT on May 21, confirms director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  16. ^ Parashar, Shivam (1 February 2021). "Priyadarshan wraps Hungama 2 shoot". India Today. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  17. ^ "Ray's Tarini Khuro set for Bollywood debut". The Daily Star. 19 December 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  18. ^ PTI (30 October 2012). "Ananth Mahadevan to adapt Satyajit Ray's short story into film". NDTV. Archived from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  19. ^ Bhattacharya, Roshmila (13 December 2013). "Paresh to tell Ray's story". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 4 June 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  20. ^ "Paresh Rawal in dinu solanki out". 23 March 2014. Archived from the original on 28 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  21. ^ "Election results 2014 Paresh rawals biopic on Narendra Modi on hold". 16 May 2014. Archived from the original on 26 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  22. ^ "Parliamentary Constituency wise Turnout for General Election – 2014". Election Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2 July 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  23. ^ "Ahmedabad East". Election Commission of India. Archived from the original on 28 June 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  24. ^ "Paresh Rawal Says 'Tie Arundhati Roy To Army Jeep', Fuels Outrage". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  25. ^ "Indian actor Paresh Rawal proposes using Arundhati Roy as human shield". 22 May 2017. Archived from the original on 7 October 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  26. ^ a b "Swara Bhaskar slams Paresh Rawal's comment on Arundhati, Ashoke Pandit supports actor". Hindustan Times. 23 May 2017. Archived from the original on 28 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  27. ^ "Paresh Rawal tweet an indication of BJP's 'dictatorial mentality' says Congress". www.timesnownews.com. 23 May 2017. Archived from the original on 28 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  28. ^ "Paresh Rawal unapologetic about Arundhati Roy tweet, says it was a 'message of peace'". Hindustan Times. 3 June 2017. Archived from the original on 6 October 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2018.

External links[edit]