Paresh excellence

Nonika Singh

He is the quintessential funny man of many a Hindi comedy film, whose impeccable comic timing neither fails him ever nor can ever be faulted. In person, however, veteran actor Paresh Rawal is anything but funny. Curt to the point of impertinence, there is no attempt to play to the gallery. No crowd-pleasing homilies ensue. Sure wisecracks follow, many of which are aimed at political parties too. 

Yes, this BJP MP wears his political affiliation up his sleeve, praises Prime Minister Narendra Modi unabashedly. But then he appreciates his fellow actors equally effusively. All set to play Sunil Dutt in a biopic on Sanjay Dutt, he gushes, “Working with the director Raj Kumar Hirani is a treat and with Ranbir Kapoor, a double treat.” Though the film has an ensemble cast, including actors such as Nawazuddin Siddiqui, he singles out Rajeev Khandelwal, who he thinks is a phenomenal actor only let down by kharaab kismet. Of course, Rawal is rather diffident about his own successful innings, “sheer stroke of luck” which has seen him as an integral part of timeless comedies such as Hera Pheri franchise, Welcome Back, et al. 

Comedy zone

Comedy as a genre, he thinks, has come a long way from slapstick kele ke chilke wala humour to more meaningful stuff.  A complete natural at comedy, he agrees that behind the artlessness lies the art. “That is the job of an actor, to not let the hard work show.” With his feet and training firmly steeped in the ultimate riyaaz, theatre, he considers himself and others like Anupam Kher as essentially theatre actors. No wonder, between the film Oh My God and the play Kishan Vs Kanhaiya on which the hit film was based and which brought him to Chandigarh on Saturday, “the play has been a more satisfying experience. A film once canned is forever. Play evolves with every show.”

Indeed, he is thinking of yet another play but the cast is huge and “today actors don’t have time for rehearsals.” The stand-up comedy act he once toyed with is no longer on his radar simply because, “I am not as good as a Sunil Grover or a Kapil Sharma.”  Interestingly, however, it’s not they who make him laugh but opposition parties who invariably put their foot in mouth with their ludicrous utterances. Whether all actors should join politics or not he believes, “Each one of us who is aware is political.”

An actor, an MP

On his journey from an actor to an MP, he strongly believes, “Politics does open new windows. As an actor you live in your cocoon, but as an MP you discover the sky is much bigger than the horizon of acting would allow you to see.” Without a doubt, Rawal’s political heart beats for Modi and he sees no harm in Yogi Adityanath becoming the Chief Minister of UP either. That is not to say he is not ready to take a stand as an artiste. Like many of his ilk, he too is dead against censorship of any kind, including anti-smoking tickers. Twitter might be exploding with vicious trolls but he believes, “The negativity will come to a logical end, they will tire out eventually.” One negative comment, however, he refuses to take lying down is that threatens the integrity of the country. Spoken like a true “nationalist” politician… clearly Rawal has learnt to master his twin roles of an actor and a politician with aplomb. 

Politically, he may not have any grand ambitions to become a chief minister or prime minister, as an actor you will see him soon in Salman Khan-starrer Tiger Jinda Hai and another based on Satayjit Ray’s story. You may or may not have quarrels with his political ideology, but as an actor there is no denying the space he deserves as one of the tallest actors straddling the silver screen. 

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