Mumbai: National Award winner Paresh Rawal recently opened up about the issue of lobbying in award circuits and claimed that even National Awards aren’t free of it.
While discussing various aspects of his career with Raj Shamani on his podcast, the veteran actor emphasised that he treasures appreciation from directors and writers more than any trophy.
“Award to mujhe to pata hi nahi hai. Ek baat main ye bhi bolun, National Award mein thoda bahut (lobbying) hota hoga. Utna nahi hai jitna baaki ke awards mein hota hai. Baaki ke award ki to baat karo ya na karo, koi farq nahi padta. National Award to National Award hai, reputed hai (I don’t even know much about awards. I’ll say that there might be a bit of lobbying in the National Awards, but not as much as in other awards. The rest don’t matter much. The National Award is reputed),” Paresh said.
Noting that lobbying isn’t limited to India, he mentioned, “Lobbying to Oscar Awards mein bhi hoti hai (Lobbying happens at Oscar awards too).”
Paresh disclosed that lobbying is largely influenced by networking, and big parties are hosted as part of the process.
“Haan bhaiya, Raj ki picture hai. Chalo jitne academy ke jitne members hote hain sabko whip up kiya jaata hai (So, it’s Raj’s film. Let’s get all the Academy members together and influence them),” he revealed.
Paresh was honoured with the National Award in the Best Supporting Actor category in 1993 for his role in the film ‘Woh Chokri’ and Sir.’
On the work front, Paresh was most recently seen playing a tour guide at Agra in Tushar Amrish Goel‘s ‘The Taj Story.’
He was also seen in the recently-released horror-comedy ‘Thamma’, starring Ayushmann Khuranna and Rashmika Mandanna.
He will next be seen in ‘Hera Pheri 3’, ‘Bhooth Bangla’, and ‘Welcome To The Jungle’.
