Paresh Rawal – Torn clothes can be sewed again but once self-respect is lost, it couldn’t be restored: B’day Special

Paresh Rawal (born 30 May 1950) is an Indian film actor, comedian and politician known for his works notably in Bollywood. Following the 2014 Indian General Elections, he is a member of parliament in the Lok Sabha of the Indian Parliament representing the Ahmedabad East constituency. He is politically affiliated with the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). Rawal speaks Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, and English language fluently.

Paresh Rawal was born and brought up in a Gujarati family in Mumbai. He is married to Swaroop sampat, an actress and winner of the Miss India contest in 1979. Paresh and Swaroop have two sons, Aditya and Anirudh. He is an alumnus of Narsee Monjee College of Commerce & Economics, Vile Parle, Mumbai.

Rawal made his debut with the 1985 film Arjun in a supporting role. It was the 1986 blockbuster Naam that established him as an actor with great talent. He then appeared in over 100 films throughout the 1980s and 1990s, mostly as the main villain, such as in Roop ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, Kabzaa, King Uncle, Ram Lakhan, Daud, Baazi and so many more.

In the 1990s, he also starred in the cult comedy Andaz Apna Apna in which he played a double role. Paresh Rawal was perceived as a character actor by both audiences and critics until the 2000 Bollywood cult classic Hera Pheri, Rawal played the dim-witted, boisterous and kind-hearted Marathi landlord Baburao Ganpatrao Apte in the film Hera Pheri, who takes in Raju (Akshay Kumar) and Shyam (Sunil Shetty) as paying guests in his house. Rawal’s acting was a key reason for the major nationwide success the film received For his performance, he won the Filmfare Best Comedian Award.

His other notable works in Hindi Cinema are Naam (1986), Shiva (1990), Mohra (1994), Tamanna (1996), Aitraaz (2004), Table No. 21 (2013), Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!, Zilla Ghaziabad (2013), Aankhein (2002), OMG – Oh My God!, Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), and Sanju (2018).

In 2014, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India, the fourth highest civilian award in India, for his contributions to the entertainment industry.