Paresh Rawal : A sum of many parts
iView Author: Akshay Manwani (New Delhi ,India)
Email: akshay.manwani [at] gmail.com
Paresh Rawal : A sum of many parts
As an actor Paresh Rawal’s biography would surely make for an interesting read. From a rank outsider in the film industry, he has come a long way and is now amongst the finest exponents of the acting craft. Indeed, in the last couple of years some of the better films (Yun hota toh kya hota – 2006, Mumbai Meri Jaan – 2008, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! – 2008) have had him being pivotal to the storyline. In a journey spanning 25 years (debuted in Holi in 1984), Rawal has been the shining example of how the slow and steady eventually manage to get ahead of the brat pack.
While it is never a good idea to compare artistes in any field, in Rawal’s case it helps to get a proper perspective of the giant strides he has made as an actor. On current form (pardon the cricketing jargon), Paresh rubs shoulders with the likes of Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Pankaj Kapoor and Anupam Kher. All gentlemen have espoused the cause of quality cinema and have showcased their versatility over the duration of their respective careers. However, at the start of their innings in the industry this was not the case.
Naseeruddin Shah (Nishant – 1975, Manthan 1976), Om Puri (Bhavani Bhavai -1980, Ardh Satya – 1982) and Pankaj Kapoor (Arohan – 1982, Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho – 1984) riding largely on their National School of Drama background made a beeline for parallel cinema and were immediately slotted as serious actors. Anupam Kher’s case was different in that he didn’t entirely confine himself to parallel cinema immediately. By playing the anguished principled father in Saaransh (1984) and the despotic ‘Dr. Dang’ in Karma (1986), Kher proved the range of his versatility in just a few years. Thereafter, even when the aforementioned bunch took to pandering to the lowest form of commercial cinema their pedigree had already been established courtesy their earlier success.
Rawal in contrast, made an inconspicuous start. He did the hard yards in mainstream commercial cinema by primarily appearing in inane villainous roles – Arjun (1985), Ram Lakhan (1989), Swarg (1990) etc . In retrospect it may seem surprising but some of Rawal’s roles as villain coincided with the nadir that Hindi cinema hit in the 1990’s and this is best exemplified by Rawal playing the hideous ‘Lal Behari’ in Jigar (1992). Before we gross ourselves out on what a man of his caliber was doing in that film, it must be to Rawal’s credit that he stuck through this phase of his career without giving up, for the turnaround wasn’t very far away.
In Sir (1993) and Woh Chokri (1994) he brought villainy back into fashion. But it is with Sardar (1994) that he made the first big leap as a character actor. This biographical account by Ketan Mehta on ‘Vallabhbhai Patel’, in the few years before and after independence, gave Rawal the perfect opportunity to prove his wares. And Rawal did that with gusto. The scene where he deals with the Nizam of Hyderabad’s emissary does full justice to Sardar Patel’s moniker as the ‘Iron Man of India’.
Tamanna (1996) saw Paresh cover new ground as the eunuch who tugs at our heart strings while parenting an orphaned girl whereas in Satya (1998) he plays the calculating police commissioner ‘Amod Shukla’ with aplomb. He then added comedy to his repertoire by playing the oddball ‘Baburao Ganpatrao Apte’ in Hera Pheri (2000), a character which left us rolling in the aisles. Since then Paresh has delighted audiences with some riotous performances, never mind the quality of cinema, in Awara Paagal Deewana (2002), Garam Masala (2005) and Golmaal (2006).
The thing about Paresh Rawal is that he is the sum of all the parts that he has played in several films. He is as likely to leave you in splits– Aankhen (2002) as he is likely to leave you sick in the gut – Firaaq (2009). Also movies like the cult hit Andaaz Apna Apna (1994) or the recent rage of Hindi Cinema – Oye Lucky! Luck Oye! (2008), where Rawal dons multiple characters in the same film, showcase yet another quality of his. People talk of method acting and how difficult it might be to sink one’s teeth into the character that needs to be portrayed and here’s a man who does it for more than one character at the same time without making too much of a fuss about it.
And in 2008 Rawal gave us the definitive example of this aspect to his acting. The quality that lends him to blend seamlessly, from one character to another. First, in Jaane tu ya jaane na he plays the wily ‘Inspector Baghmare’, a cop who is always on the lookout to bend the rules to get ahead in life.
Contrast that performance with his hard hitting portrayal of ‘Havaldaar Tukaram Patil’ in Mumbai Meri Jaan. Rawal apparently lost 12 kilos for this role and looks every inch the part, as he hands down a broad minded outlook gained over a lifetime of service to his younger colleagues.
To borrow a management term, Paresh Rawal has used the ‘bottom up’ rather than the ‘top down’ approach in his journey as an actor. In doing so he has left several of his peers behind. His remarkable success is a reminder that it is not the tough times that last forever but the tough guys who do.
Tags: andaz apna apna, arjun, Hera Pheri, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, Mumbai Meri Jaan, OLLO, Paresh Rawal, Sadar, satya, Yun hota to kya hota
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Another of my very favourite actors. Saw Firaaq day before yesterday, and I agree with you – one really would hate a man like that.
The way Paresh saab uses his voice is simply fabulous.
Paresh Rawal’s skills as an actor shine through even in a ‘classic’ like Jigar. Lal Behari was a very entertaining character
Brilliant artiste and a wonderful write-up.
I liked him in most of his Hindi films and also his Telugu Films… ‘Kshana Kshanam’ where he plays a comical villian and ‘Money’/'Money Money’ where he plays a inane husband.
good article!
Its really sad to see him in films like golmaal, awara pagal etc…. immensely gifted actors like him and OM Puri shouldnt work in such crap!
One of my favorite actors. Extremely versatile. Looking forward to seeing more of him in meaningful cinema.
super actor!!! one of my most favourite…one way for me to make out how good an actor is to see whether he feels the character…i.e. to forget who the actor is….eg: Salman Khan is Salman Khan in each and every movie of his…and in practically all roles i have seen of his Paresh Rawal does feel the character….
paresh rawal is one of the most versatile actors in recent times..yiles what a villain in those 80s movies like Arjun…and what a comedienne. I absolutely loved him in “yeh tera ghar ye mera ghar” playing a besotted cop much before Hera pheri….utpal dutt ki kami nahi mehsoos hui bilkul..
Ppl shud write scripts keeping him in mind alone and give him tons of footage man…thats how talented he is. loved him in “yun hota “, “oye lucky” and “mumbai meri jaan”..
cant get that dialogue from “oye lucky” when he does a 360 deg turn at his son for asking a mobike…
Ive tons of dramatic uncles in my family just like him :-)
absolutely priceless..
nice article on a great actor. while mentioning the initial movies where he played villain, u missed Naam, where he created hell in sanju baba’s life. another good role he had was in Sir. I still remember the typical way in which he says – Uss Chhappan Tikli Ke Bachhe Ko Toh Main Cheer Ke Rakh Doonga…
Sadly he is being typecasted in below average comedy flicks nowadays…
I still think Sardar was his best work…Now I can’t imagine anyone else playing Sardar Patel…Just to add on I also think it was the best film by Ketan Mehta also…a must see…