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Paresh Rawalwho served as Member of Parliament of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from 2014 to 2019 and veteran actor Nasiruddin Shah Long stands on the opposite side of the political spectrum. Although Shah has often criticized the ruling party and its policies, Rawal has consistently expressed deep admiration for him as an actor. Summarizing his honors in the past, Rawal said, “Even Naseeruddin Shah’s enemies admire him. There is something about him that doesn’t let you take your eyes off him.”In a recent conversation with Vicky Lalwani, Rawal opened up about his admiration for Shah, his influence on his craft and why their ideological differences never came in the way of mutual respect.The discussion started with Rawal reprising his role as a visually impaired person in ‘Ankhen’. He revealed that he watched Shah’s performance in ‘Sparsh’ repeatedly while preparing for the film.“I’ve seen Sparsh more than once while doing Ankhen. I’ve never seen an actor play a blind character as beautifully as Naseeruddin Shah in Indian cinema. A blind person has a twinkle in his eye. It may sound like an oxymoron, but I mean his expression was perfect. He broke characters that broke the characters around him.”Speaking about their relationship, Rawal clarified that although they are not close friends in the traditional sense, he has always held Shah in the highest regard. “We’re not friends who visit each other’s houses. We talk on the phone sometimes. I can’t be casual around him because I have a lot of respect for him. He’s not someone who opens up to everyone, and he makes it very clear. Besides being a great actor, he’s also a great person.“Rawal also admitted that the two have intense political beliefs, but said these differences have never affected their bond. “We may have different political ideologies, but we never argued about them. I once said in an interview that if Naseeruddin Shah, Amir Khan or Shah Rukh Khan Raise a concern, I will listen to them. I will not directly reject what they say. I will try to understand their point of view. If I think they’re wrong, I’ll tell them.”Recalling the first time he saw Shah and the late Om Puri, Rawal said he was impressed by their presence even before seeing their work.“Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri were not conventionally handsome heroes. A friend from IFTDA, Subhash Dange, often told me about this actor from NSD (National School of Drama). I became curious, and one day he took me to where Nasir lived. That evening I saw Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri standing in the park. I hadn’t even seen their work at the time, but I was impressed. There was something magnetic about them. Once you see Naseeruddin Shah, you cannot take your eyes off him. Same happened with Om Puri.He also said that they got to know each other while working in the theater.“I was mesmerized by him. I was always trying to understand what made him so attractive.”Rawal recalls that his first chance to work with Shah came in the film ‘Lori’. “The first film we worked on together was Lauri. It starred Farooq Sheikh, Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi and Assets in kind. I had a very small role. Director Vijay Talwar knew that if I worked with Naseeruddin Shah, I would happily do a small part. He was formally met there. I did a few scenes with him and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.”For Rawal, praise from Shah has always been more important than industry awards. “I never looked for validation through awards. Once the director said ‘cut’, I went ahead. But when Naseeruddin Shah called me after watching Mumbai Meri Jaan and said, ‘Jio Yar Jio, Kya Kam Kya Hai’, that was the biggest award of my life.”Rawal also came to Shah’s defense for the criticism he faced in 2018 after he expressed concerns about the safety of his children in India.“People adore Naseeruddin Shah. Even his enemies admire him. He has that quality. Sometimes people end up saying something. Don’t judge him for a statement. It’s unfair. It’s not our culture to target someone’s children for what they say. You play Prithvi Theatre. If someone really wants to hurt you, they can. But our society doesn’t work that way.”Rawal was referring to comments Shah made during a conversation with Karwan-e-Mohabbat in 2018, where the actor spoke about choosing not to raise his children with a religious identity.“I was taught religiously… but gems [Pathak Shah, Naseeruddin’s wife] Did not get any religious education. We choose not to teach our children religiously. So I fear for my children…because if a crowd gathers around them and asks are you Hindu or Muslim, they will have no answer. They have no religion,” he said.Earlier, in an interview with ‘The Lalantop’, Ratna Pathak Shah explained why she and her husband continue to share a warm relationship with colleagues like Anupam Kher and Paresh Rawal despite their differing political views.“I was born in a family where my father came from an RSS background and my mother was a communist There were constant arguments at home, yet we all lived happily together. Disagreeing with someone’s opinion does not mean disliking them. The idea that anyone who disagrees with you should be dismissed is very new. It’s not our culture.”He added: “They are forcing Indians to fight each other like children in the school playground, the way bullies treat weak children. Do we want to be like that? No. I will not be one, I will not let my children be one. I will tell whoever I can influence that we cannot be bullies. We have to be cultured people. This is our culture.”
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