He is talented. He is opinionated. And he is vocal. Paresh Rawal opens up on issues of God, godmen and that religion called humanity.
Veteran theatre and film actor Paresh Rawal is all set for the release of his first film production OMG Oh My God! on September 28. It is a script he knows like the back of his hand, having been adapted from his hugely popular play Kishan vs Kanhaiya which has had 450-plus shows in Gujarati, 150 in Hindi and 100 in Marathi. Production isn’t new for him either; he has produced content for television before. Predictably, he is not even remotely nervous about his first film production. “I put in more than 100 per cent when a film is being made. After that, it is in the hands of the audience,” he says. Point out to him that he could have said ‘in the hands of God’ as most actors rely on divine blessings to take their film forward, and he laughs heartily. “Well, audience is GOD, isn’t it?”
OMG – Oh My God! is co-produced by Akshay Kumar and TV content bigwig Ashwini Yardi, and Paresh says he is certain they know their job well. “Akshay has been churning out hits for decades now. He is well-versed with the grammar of blockbusters. Ashwini knows the pulse of the audience. So when they wanted to include Sonakshi Sinha’s special dance in the film, I had no qualms about it,” he adds.
New scenes and dialogues
Paresh says that the film brings in two elements that should enthral even those who have watched the play. “I am banking on familiarity and surprise. For those who have already watched the play, there are new scenes, new dialogues and new angles.”
Asked about his character, an atheist who takes God and godmen to court after he gets hit by a natural calamity, Paresh says, “All I want to say is I am more volatile, violent, aggressive and radical in real life than my character. He may not believe in God. For me, the question is not whether I believe in God, but whether God believes in me? I have a simple question. If there is God, and there must be one, then how come there are so many killings worldwide in the name of religion? If He is there, how come He is not putting a stop to all this?”
The actor, who has recently been seen mostly in comic roles, says that OMG Oh My God! doesn’t get preachy as humour is a big part of the movie, yet it is different from his slapstick comedies. Given a chance though, he definitely would like to do more meaningful roles. “I can’t help it. These (the comic films) have given me popularity. I will be happy if a good film rides on my popularity and gets more viewers than expected,” he concludes, mentioning his 1993 film Sardar , as one of his personal favourites.
