23 hours Ago
Paresh Rawal is a theatre veteran, having performed in over 150 plays while also navigating a successful film career. Senior Bollywood actor Paresh Rawal is counted among the most talented artists in Indian cinema, having left a mark with his flawless performances. Paresh Rawal’s glorious acting career kicked off in theatres.
He started working in Gujarati plays and then moved to various other languages. Over the years, the Hera Pheri actor has performed in over 150 plays and delivered about 7,000 performances in India and abroad. Paresh Rawal, who considers theatre his “first love," recently opened up about balancing his career in films with the stage.
In an interview with The Lallantop, the actor also spoke about his attachment to Marathi theatre. “We used to watch a lot of Marathi plays by artists like Sulabha Deshpande, Arvind Deshpande, and Shriram Lagoo. We are lucky that Marathi people still do amazing work in theatre.
They have innovative writers. Marathi plays are way ahead of us," he said, further suggesting Prajakta Deshmukh’s musical play, Devbabhali, to the interviewer. Paresh Rawal mentioned how one can feel the true spirit of theatre when watching Marathi plays, as he went on to praise the in-depth presentation of every character and the smooth narrative of the plot.
“In today’s time, when only glamour is seen, such a play manages to keep the connection to reality. Prajakta Deshmukh’s excellent writing and the music in Devbabhali are the soul of the play. It marks a great success for Marathi theatre, and such plays are still watched and loved by a larger audience," he continued.
Elsewhere in the conversation, the actor explained how he finds theatre as a “space" to detox himself from all the “dirt" that he collects from doing films. “Sometimes, I would go do a show after working on one of these movies. I am not a unique person; I can tell you that every theatre actor, when they set foot inside the premises of a theatre, an internal detox begins.
All this ‘mael’ (dirt) is rubbed off." Notably, this is not the first time that the veteran actor has spoken highly of theatre. Earlier, Rawal described it as his “first love," revealing that he feels the happiest on the stage, performing for audiences who appreciate and understand the essence of theatre.
On the work front, Paresh Rawal has a series of releases in the pipeline, including Welcome To The Jungle, Bhooth Bangla, and Hera Pheri 3..
