Yesteryear actor Paintal tears up as he recalls what his father told him after losing his job: ‘If you’re my son…’

Paintal said that his father was always fond of filmmaking, and to fuel his passion, he purchased an 8mm camera and used Paintal as an actor. It was then that Paintal’s father suggested that he should try his luck in acting, and enroll at the Film Institute of India. He got in, but there was a problem.

He recalled that his father lost his job and told him that he wouldn’t be able to pay for his education. Paintal said that one of his uncles came to their help, and funded his college. Paintal said that he was a terrible student, and would often flunk his exams or get compartments. “So, when my father came to see me off at the station to go to Pune, he said something that changed my outlook towards life. It taught me, a careless person, to be more responsible. It taught me a sense of purpose, a sense of living, a sense of duty,” he said. Tearfully, he continued, “My father took me to the side and said, ‘You haven’t been a good student, but if you’re my son, you must do good now’. That moment changed my life.”

Paintal has appeared in films such as Bawarchi, Satte Pe Satta, and Aaj Ki Taaza Khabar. In his career, he has been associated with over 350 films.