Paresh Rawal, 59, is a simple, uncomplicated man who hates being a hypocrite, as he believes it corrupts your soul.
While he may need to do frivolous brain-dead comedy at times, what he truly enjoys doing is meaningful comedy, which makes you laugh one moment but also makes you cry. Ahead of his upcoming film Raja Natwarlal, he talks about his respect for Naseeruddin Shah, what makes him a fan of Narendra Modi and why he loves his wife Swaroop Sampat the most in the world. Excerpts:
How did you come into films?
I am a Gujarati, born and brought up in Mumbai. My father was a textile manager initially and then he had his own business. In school, I would participate in debates and plays and was often told that I was good at it. Even while doing my graduation from Narsee Monjee, my principal UR Koli was very supportive of me doing theatre and gave me attendance relief to encourage me. My plays would often be dark and serious, even though I do comedies now.
I was very inspired by art cinema and directors like Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalani and Ketan Mehta. I struggled to get in for three years, but there was a star system there too and then also, they had superior actors, so I did not get a chance and continued to do theatre. Till one day, when my friend Karim Morani was making Arjun and gave me a role. Javed sahab liked me a lot and said to me that I would be in every film of his.
What is the difference between doing theatre and cinema?
Theatre teaches you discipline. In theatre, you get to do some great writing on stage that you cannot do for films, as the economics of making a film versus a play are very different. You can experiment with yourself in theatre and it helps you prepare for the film world. Unlike in films, in theatre, there is a very family kind of bonding with your crew. Above all, in theatre there are no retakes and there is instant acceptance or rejection by the audience.
You are not conventionally good-looking. Your wife Swaroop Sampat was a Miss India. What drew you to each other?
To fall in love, you don’t need to be good looking. Swaroop comes from a rich family. I come from a middle-class background. She was from Cathedral, I, from a Vile Parle-based Gujarati medium school, so, any which way, there was nothing in common, but after seeing each other for 12 years, we got married when I was 33. I think she liked my simplicity and my passion to do things that I want to do, regardless of its result, as I always feel ki ek baar main karne ka maza toh le loon.
Also, my confidence appealed to her, the fact that despite not being good-looking, I wanted to come into films. For me, my wife and my two sons are my world.
They are so pious and uncorrupt that I sometimes feel that they will not be able to face the world. Itne seedhe log hain. I stay in the outside world, so I have to stay a little bit crooked to ensure that at least others don’t harm me. I love Swaroop for her simplicity and strength of character. She became a Miss India in 1979. When you are asked a question on stage, many girls say noble things, but in Swaroop’s case, she meant it. In 2000, when the kids had grown up and I was stable in my career, she said to me, ‘I want to pursue my studies.’
She finished her post graduation and then did her Ph.D from Houston University and now is big time into education, where, she stays upto 15 days in poor conditions teaching kids, not taking a single penny for it. So, what she said then that I want to do something for kids, she is fulfilling it.
I am not degrading anybody, but she discarded the kitty party film wife culture and went and pursued this instead. She is very straightforward and with her, you get what you see.
