Paresh Rawal gives an update on Hera Pheri 3, says ‘mera beta agar Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt jitna talented hota toh…’ as he discusses nepotism

Four decades of Paresh Rawal

On being around for over forty years, the actor shared that he has seen the business evolve and lauded the new generation of actors for being “curious and hard working”.

On how he sustained for so long in an ever changing film industry, he said, “There is no advice. You just have to keep on working hard and keep yourself fresh. Keep yourself abreast with literature and the surrounding and with what is happening around you. That is the key I think. I feel very happy and blessed for the love of the people. Through my journey I have also learnt not to forget the writer and the director because they put their faith in me and my talent and I have delivered. Their material was so powerful, so I am thankful to them for that.”

“An actor is nothing but an amalgamation of so many factors, in a film for an actor to become a star, over a hundred and fifty people give in their all, so the credit should always go to them. That actor who has become a star should not forget the team’s efforts, they should accept it with humility. If a star says they have become big all because of themselves then they are bogus. This generation is very hard working, very focused, never wavering. They are career oriented and they are very curious if what’s happening, what’s working and what’s not working. The new generation of actors are superlative, look at Vicky Kaushal, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Rajkumar Rao, Ayushmann Khurrana, they are so good.”

“Nepotism debate is bogus”

Paresh’s sons are on their way to making a space of their own in the field of acting. His son Aditya Rawal made his acting debut in 2020 with Bamfaad, and Aniruddh Rawal has acted in films like Sultan (2016), Tiger Zinda Hai (2017) and Scoop (2023). When asked if he ever helped them fetch projects and what his opinion is on the nepotism debate, he said, “My sons make their own choices, until they make mistakes they will not learn. Only if they come to me and ask for it, I’ll advise him. If they don’t ask me, I don’t tell them anything. Let them find their own way. I believe in letting them make mistakes, let them learn on their own. But I know one thing for sure, they are very hard working and very talented. They have not used my name to enter this world (Bollywood).”

Sharing his opinion on nepotism he said that the debate was “bogus” and called out those who created a noise about not getting fair opportunity. He said, “I think nepotism is bogus. Mera beta agar Ranbir Kapoor ya Alia Bhatt jitna talented hota toh main uspe mera sab paisa laga deta (If my son was as talented as Ranbir Kapoor or Alia Bhatt then I’ll bet a fortune on him. Why should I not? It is not a wrong thing. If a doctor’s child won’t become a doctor, then what, a barber? People who made a noise with the nepotism debate ask them why they accept their father’s inheritance so happily. Give it to your neighbour instead.”

 

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Update on Welcome to the Jungle and Hera Pheri 3

Before wrapping up, Rawal gave an update on his upcoming films — Welcome to the Jungle with Akshay Kumar and the third installment of much discussed Hra Pheri 3 with Akshay and Suniel Shetty.

He shared, “Welcome to the Jungle is being made with a massive (budget) and a big star-cast. I feel the movie will turn out to be jabardast (fantastic). Whereas when it comes to Hera Pheri, it is such a big brand so one has to be cautious. You can’t take things for granted because we have to understand that however big a hit the film was, whatever its goodwill and fan following, times have changed now, people’s taste has changed, their aspirations have changed. So keeping that in mind we’ll start shooting for it in March- April 2024.”