Paresh Rawal says bored of Hera Pheri character Baburao, calls it stagnant: ‘Everyone wants to cash in on it’

Actor Paresh Rawal has portrayed numerous memorable characters on the big screen, but his most popular role remains that of Baburao in the Hera Pheri films. Recently, during a podcast with Raj Shamani, Paresh reflected on how Baburao’s popularity has often overshadowed many of his other acclaimed performances. He also admitted that the constant projection of Baburao in the same light bothers him.

Revisiting his statement from an earlier interview, in which he said he felt trapped by the success of his Hera Pheri character, Paresh explained, “What happens is that just to please people, you keep churning out the same thing. When Raju Hirani made Munna Bhai MBBS, the same characters were seen in different backdrops, and people enjoyed watching that. When you have huge characters with a goodwill of Rs 500 crores, why don’t you take a risk and fly? Why are you stagnant? My contention was to do the character in different ways because we have an audience for it. If you give up your own advantage, what’s the point? We should not just keep doing the same thing. Baburao’s role dominates over many other good characters I have played; it is more affable.”

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He added, “I am told Baburao is more popular than RK Laxman. I feel bad when intelligent people churn out the same thing. I am bored because of this. The character has a tremendous scope; you will believe everything Baburao says.”

Paresh Rawal further revealed that despite being offered several roles modeled after Baburao, he chose not to accept them. “I have always said no to playing caricatures of Baburao. The demand keeps coming; everybody wants to cash in on it. Legally, it’s Firoz Nadiadwala’s property, so I cannot play the character legally in any other person’s film, so it’s a virtue out of helplessness.”

Also Read | Paresh Rawal confirms his return to Hera Pheri 3: ‘We had to fine-tune ourselves…’

Paresh Rawal will be seen reprising his role as Baburao once again in Hera Pheri 3. While the actor had backed out from the film some time back due to certain differences, he rejoined the team once again. Hera Pheri 3 is scheduled to go on floors early next year. The film will also see Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty reprise their roles as Raju and Shyam.