Paresh Rawal: “I Had No Idea My  Son Had Signed A Film”

Paresh Rawal is not worried  about  his son Aditya’s career, even if  Aditya’s  acting debut has  been released  in  the midst of a worldwide  lockdown.

Says Paresh, “My son’s  film Bamfaad  has  not had an easy journey.There were production problems  and the film was somehow completed  .First  of all,  we don’t know when  people will go  back to theatres even after  the  lockdown ends. How  do you know the person sitting next to you  in  the  theatre is  not infected? Social distancing  will have a direct  effect  on  theatre  attendance. And even if  they waited to release  Bamfaad after lockdown it would have  to   compete with  big films that are waiting to release. It wouldn’t have stood a chance. On  the OTT platform Bamfaad is being watched  by a captive audience.So yes, I am quite happy at Aditya’s  debut.”

Paresh who has been off the  movie radar for five years, says  he  had  no idea his son had signed  a film. “That’s right! One fine day he  told me he’s  going to  Kanpur for  one and a  half months  . I asked if it was a  football match or  a writers’ workshop since   he’s  very good at  football and writing.  Aditya then  told me had signed  a film  as the main lead. I  was taken aback. ‘Main lead  ina  film about life in a  small North Indian town.. yeh  sab kab hua?!’.  Aditya  learnt the  local way of speaking  , he familiarized  himself with a culture that he had  never experienced,  to play the role.He’s truly selfmade and I wouldn’t say  just this because he’s my son.”

The proud parent Paresh  recalls Aditya’s  initial interest  in  another field  of  activity  . “When he was younger Aditya  loved cricket. He  became  a  very  good  cricket player. Then all the corruption  happened  in  cricket and  my boy lost interest in  the game.He then turned  to football and became  equally adept at that. But I saw no future for a  football player in this  country.So I asked him to  show me his writing.He turned out to be  a very skilled writer.He went to New York to study film writing and has worked with   directors like  Ashutosh Gowriker(Panipat), Hansal Mehta and  Anurag Kashyap.”

 Paresh feels his son has  his own journey as an actor.  “When I  remember my struggle and  all the humiliation  that I went  through to become an actor I am glad I came up the  hard way. All the pain helps you to grow as an artiste. Aditya too  is evolving on his own. Being my son is  not helping him to move forward.He’s  doing  it own his own.”

After  a  gap  of  five  years Paresh  will be seen in a handful of films.

“That’s right!” he brightens up. “I will be seen  in David  Dhawan’s Coolie No  1, Priyadarshan’s Hungama 2  and  Umesh Shukla’s Aankh Micholi. I   was  more or less  out of the  screen  for   so many years as I  became  busy with my political career. But now I feel  I am ready to give some time again to my acting career.You know what they say…once an  actor always an  actor.”

A  film with his son, perhaps?

“Of  course! I’d love that. In fact I’ve asked Aditya to write a  film with roles for both of us. I know he’ll come up with something  really special.”