The Underrated Series : Pavan Malhotra
iview Author: SRIDHAR MAYUR (Hyderabad, India)
Email: withheld
Content: “The Underrated Series – Pavan Malhotra”
Today I am writing about the one whose acting potential is as brilliant as his personality and attitude. He is Pavan Malhotra. Mostly recognized by face than his name. Sadly, thats the truth( for most of the underrated ). No awards, No recognition, No credits. What works for Pavan Malhotra is his unmatched passion towards acting and him wanting to do the roles he likes(just like a challenge). No doubt thats a sign of a true winner.
Pavan Malhotra got into acting by chance after he was cajoled into helping a friend on stage. He is quite particular about the kind of roles he takes up and has done only 10-12 serials till date. Some of his famous serials include Nukkad, Zameen Aasmaan, Karishma: A Miracle of Destiny and Alag Alag.
Lets look into excerpts from a conversation with Pavan Malhotra.
“Pavan Malhotra’s seriousness at acting comes through in his conversations. How true this is of the kind of characters he portrays also come to the fore with the pivotal role of Aamir, an illegal Asian immigrant of the 60’s holed up in a derelict house in Britain, in the BBC movie Brothers in Trouble, as well as in Saeed Mirza’s Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro.”But I am not a serious person in real life” he is quick to point out.
He feels everytime he takes up a role, he is accepting a new challenge, and then the thinking process starts. “Acting is a thinking process”. You begin to sketch out the character and the way you would go about fleshing out the personality in the script is what acting involves. Five people could enact the same character in five different ways and yet all of them could be right in their depiction. Before he acts he tries to visualise the character, the person’s background. How would the person’s mannerisms be, how would he react in a certain situation like for instance.”
Lets look into some of films he has done.
Ab Ayega Mazaa (1984)
Khamosh (1985)
Bagh Bahadur (1989)
Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro (1989)
Antarnaad (1991)
City of Joy (1992)
Tarpan(1994)
Brothers In Trouble (1995)
Pardes (1997)
Earth (1998)
Black Friday (2004)
Don (2006)
Jab We Met (2007)
My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves (2008)
Dilli 6 (2009) – Yet to release
Bhoomi (2009) – Yet to release
Incidentally he has also worked in couple of excellent Telugu films.
Aithe (Telugu) (2003)
Anukokunda Oka Roju (Telugu) (2005)
Both the films garnered critical acclaim.
A peek into some of my fav’s:
Salim Langde Pe Mat Roh – He plays Salim’s role in this movie. Salim is a flamboyant character who is nicknamed Langda (lame) not because he is handicapped but due to a stylish walk. For Salim’s role he and Makarand Deshpande(his friend and actor) loitered around the (Muslim-dominated) Dongri and Chor Bazaar areas of south Mumbai observing people. They spent time closely observing thier ways. He enacted the role perfectly to its core.
Black Friday – The Tiger Memon’s character in Black Friday, wonderful and flawless. I guess there would be no need to look at the real Tiger Memon after watching him enacting the role. This shows how a director’s confidence in the actor can give light to a wonderful performance. The scene where Tiger Memon shows his angst when his house is blown away, Wow!!…great scene.
Aithe – He plays a Don(Irfan Khan) kidnapped by teenage guys. He has a different bodylanguage, really interesting to watch.
The story is based on scandals, corruption and arms dealing with terrific screenplay. The movie was directed by debutant Chandra Shekar Yeleti. Pavan’s performance was excellent and garnered critical acclaim.
The next Telugu film which Pavan worked was also directed by Chandra Shekar Yeleti and the movie is the one mentioned above –
Anukokunda Oka Roju (Telugu) (2005). Its really sad that Pavan was not noticed much by the critics even after a wonderful performance in the movie.
There are many roles which Pavan would admire and think of, however the roles that are close to him are ‘Salim’ in Salim Langde Pe Mat Roh and the role played in ‘Bagh Bahadur’. Both of them were made in the same year and the characters are absolutely different from each other. I hope Pavan Malhotra would get to work more and we would get to see this incredible actor more on the screen.
Tags: Black Friday, Pavan Malhotra, Salim langde pe mat ro
Anurag Kashyap
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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
Great post bro. i really appreciate this under rated series of urs. After watching pavan in black friday, i thought, given a chance, he wud have eaten up SRK in Don. Its sad that such actors go unsung. i guess the film biz is more about the so kalled “X Faktor” than the real talent… keep ‘em komin!
true
hes fucking brilliant and i always look forward to seeing him
one of my favourite actros
Great actor, he was superb in Salim langde pe mat ro, Bagh bahadur and Black Friday. My favrt scene in Black friday….”Sala akkhha mumbai ko aag laga denga”…that was truly osm.
Nicely written. and an excellent choice to start the under rated series.
Next in line – atul kulkarni
@Magik – Thanks bro. Hahaha…yep would’ve eaten up SRK…
@Indraneel – Thank you. This is my third article on the underrated, apart from the others written by me on PFC. I had started with MM Kreem(Keeravani). I am soon to start the Underrated Special Series which would have star actors/star technicians we know, but thier actual calibre being underrated. BTW, atul is a very good choice and comes in line of Pavan Malhotra. Will surely post one after some research.
My favourite actor. Had the pleasure of working with him in Bhoomi. Brilliant man with a wicked sense of humour.
A good actor..
Btw, u missed Maan Gaye Mughal-E-Azam. Oh, his ‘Cable’ role was pathetic, but then whole movie was so. That can be ignored.
I was a kid when I saw Pawan Malhotra in a Telefilm about AIDS, which also featured a Jagjit Singh song ‘ye zindagi jaane kitni sadiyon se yun hi shaklen badal rahi hai’. After so many years, Pawan Malhotra’s act in that song still haunts me.
Now if he is not acknowledged as the avant-garde actor, no one should be.
Sridhar, you also missed ‘50 Lakh’. I think that’s hindi remake of ‘Aithe’
True man!! He’s really good & unfortunately underrated. Nice idea to have post like tis. \
@ Magik
He has “eaten” SRK in some vis-' -vis scenes! Very true!
@ Indraneel
Great Suggestion of ATUL.
I have seen some of his plays on marathi stage, He’s truly amazing!! He sums up whole Page 3 in 2 scenes given to him! Great man!
@ 32: while watching pawan in Don, i was thinkin at the bak of my mind, how much effort he has put to play the sidey… he kud have taken off any moment… especially when he has a konfrontation wid SRK abt Don being too ambitious… i kud sense the unkomfort within Pawan, the aktor… i also fonud him extremely outstanding in My name is anthony gonzalves…
Just in case, you haven’t seen Blood Brothers, a short film on AIDS, check out his performance in that one too (http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/broadband/video/Special-Features/ZogyBB60/3/Vishal-Bharadwaj-s-Blood-Brothers.html). I loved his performance as the angry Muslim in 1947 Earth. His Tiger Memon is legend.
You know, I just realized that he’s aged really well. He doesn’t look very different from 20 years back.
P.S. He also had a crappy role in De Taali (don’t bother asking why I watched it).
@Oxy and SatyaVrat – I did mention in the post that these are some* of his films. -:) I wish the readers would add as many as possible including the performances they’ve liked.
@32 – Thanks! Also for the replies(again) -:)
Wonderful, just as I was replying…Pratik has come up with the ‘Blood Brothers’ link…Great!!
Nice post. A true actor stands out regardless of the size/length of the role in the movie. For example, Pavan’s role in Jab We Met. The word flawless comes to mind immediately. He looks, talks, behaves, emotes like a typical hot-blooded sardar. His body language is so perfect. Quick to have fun and as quick to erupt in rage. Look at his expressions, mannerisms and even dance moves in the whole “Nagada” sequence. He left a lasting impact in such a short role as well.
A truly great actor. I hope we get to see way more of him in meatier roles.
I saw Salim langde pe mat ro on DD, when I was in school. The scene, where he sets his ‘gotti’ (balls) is still fresh in my mind. Syed Mirza is brilliant director. Love his films, Nukad is my all time favorite serial!Pavan is one of my favorites!
Looking forward to Syed Mirza’s next, which has Pavan in it!
I’ve seen him in Black Friday and Jab We Met…for JWM i mirror (14)Himanshu’s views…and for Black Friday need i say nethin…absolutely brilliant…
whoa finally. want to see more of Pavan..
Been very fond of him since his Nukkad. never watched anything else of his at all till Balack Friday. boy is he talented !!! versatile is the word.
article not very detailed though. wish it had talked more abt his roles n other movies.(since i missed all of them duh..)
waiting for a good , detailed one on Atul Kulkarni….saw him in Satta…was blown away …
loved him in page 3 and RDB
want to see lots more of him.
Feels very good to see Pawan Malhotra being discussed. The dude hasn’t got his due yet. Far from it. I was so disheartened to see him wasted in Pardes and Don – how can you do that to someone of Pawan’s talent? Black Friday wouldn’t be half the movie if it wasn’t for Pawan playing Tiger Memon. Waiting to see how Rakeysh Mehra has used him in Dilli 6….hopefully, not wasted him again..
@ Sridhar
Excellent subject u have picked!!!! Infact, i was abt to write an article of the under-utilized actors in Indian Film Industry. Glad that u are alredy doin that!! I wouldn’t have been able to do this much of research anyways…Great to read abt the real performers.Pawan Malhotra is a brilliant brilliant actor!!!His portrayal of Tiger Memon in BF is one of the greatest in Indian cinema. Its unfortunate tht our awards completely ignore such performances. Great Job Sridhar!!! Keep it up!!
My suggestions for ur upcoming posts – Pankaj Kapur (Yes…He’s still under-utilized), Aditya Srivastava, Jaaved Jaafry (He can do just anything singing,dancing, mimicking, dialogue & script writing, anchoring & act as well), Ashutosh Rana, Raghuveer Yadav, Atul Kulkarni, Iravati mayadev(Harshe earlier), Shefali Shah, Divya Dutta,Ranvir Shorey (We saw his brilliance in MITHYA)& many more.
Sridhar Mayur,
From everything said, isn’t one thing clear? Look at the directors who have exploited him.
Imtiaz Ali, Farhan Akhtar, Chandrashekhar Yeleti, Rakeysh Mehra (looking forward to this), and of course Vishal Bhardwaj.
This apart from a killer of a role in Black Friday.
Waiting for the day when he is featured in a Madras Talkies movie? Wah!
add Deepa Mehta to that!
i just saw blood brothers. a very good film. pawan was very good in it. he is a brilliant actor, mind blowing in the role of tiger memon.
my earliest memory of watching him act has to be from nukkad.
thanks for this post.
Pavan Malhotra has the caliber of Naseerudding or Om Puri but don’t know why he was criminally neglected. But whever he got opportunity he jumped on it and showcased his talent. His portrayel of Salim is etched in my memory so much that I still reer to him as Salim Langdaaa….
contd.. I mean I used to refer to him as Salim Langdaa instead of Pavan Malhotra.
He played one character in Gulzaar sahab’s teleseries that used to come on DD called Kirdar. The episode was called Mukhbir. I hope Pavan has good role in Delhi 6. Wish him best of luck.
The most interesting fact is he got into acting accidentally!!! Being an actor myself….i am amazed at the way he portrays his characters so effortlessly!!!! The most imp aspect in preparing for a role is to undo all the preparations in the end & go blank & perform. Thts whn the efforts dnt really show on-screen. Pankaj Kapur, Amitabh, Naseer & our Pawan are champs at it!!! Oh..soooo luking fwd to Delhi-6 for the actors in the film…Pawan, Vijay Raaz,Deepak Dobriyal, Divya Dutta, Supriya Pathak….Waah!!!!
Pavan Malhotra has sheer intensity right from his serial days. I haven’t seen him in a comic role, though.
One more reason for me to watch Don was Pavan Malhotra as Narang. I really hope that in Don 2,he has a role and more expanded one.
I think SRK and PM go long way back to Circus days, may be thats why he did insignificant roles in Pardes and Don.
Pawan Malhotra is among my top 5 favourite actors. Nukkad and Salim Langade… introduced me to this awesome actor.
I often wished that this actor came on screen more often.
When he acts, he doesn’t ‘act’. He becomes the character. I can never guess from his roles, who the real Pawan Malhotra is.
Unlike other people on the forum, I don’t feel he justified his acting ability in the role of Tiger Memom in ‘Black Friday’. If people liked that so much, they should watch ‘My Name is Anthony Gonsalves’. Even there, he’s not as good as he can be.
I think he needs a dose of confidence like the type that Irrfan Khan gets to validate and realise his acting potential.
Love and luck to him this year.
Amazing write up Mayur!! Loved it ! This is a great series!! Looking forward to more!
I am surprised no woman is mentioned in the suggestions for underrated actors.. Dont get me wrong, I am not feminist! Just an observation. I guess we can add Ratna Pathak Shah and Supriya Pathak too to that coveted list! People just dont use them well, apart from Naseer using Ratna well in YHTKH and Hats Off Productions using her amazingly well in Sarabhai vs Sarabhai.
Just watch Pavan in the last scene in Bagh Bahadur. He’s just so exceptionally talented. One of my favourite actors of all time. Loved Salim Langde… and Bagh Bahadur. I so wish he keeps getting lots of steady work.
If I am not mistaken Salim Langde Pe Mat Roh also had Ashutosh Gowarikar in a smaller role as Salim’s Friend. Pavan, Makarand and Ashitosh it was a good starcast. Pavan as usual was very good. Bagh Bahadur was another of a gem from Pavan. I always wondered why a guy sooo talented never got his credit. I wish Pavan all the best and hope to see him more and more roles, interesting ones and challenging ones.
One question that I will never be able to figure out is Why did Pawan acted in Pardes ? Why ? It was such a nonsense role and a guy like Pawan deserves so much better so much bigger.
watch out for Deepak Dobriyal.
Yashpal Sharma is another underrated actor.He was brilliant in Chameli,Gangajal,Ab tak chappan, Hazaron Khwashien Aisi and many more!
But alas..he is not utilised fully!
Can anybody remember thr serial -9 malabar hill . Pawan Malhotra was excellent in it.