Veteran actor Paresh Rawal has spent nearly four decades in the film industry, exploring a wide range of characters across genres. However, despite an extensive filmography, the actor recently revealed that he considers only 11 films from his career truly good. Paresh made the revelation while attending the premiere of his upcoming film ‘Pastt Tense’ at the Jagran Film Festival, alongside his son Aditya Rawal, Ananth Mahadevan, Sharib Hashmi and Tannishtha Chatterjee.During a Q&A session at the festival, Paresh was asked whether he had ever counted the number of films he had worked in. Laughing, the actor replied, “No. Jo acchi films hain, woh mujhe pata hain kitni hain (I only remember the good films).” When the host estimated that his filmography comprised around 250 films, Paresh suggested that the number could be even higher. However, he maintained that only 11 of those films made it to his list of favourites.His son Aditya also revealed that he had counted the number of films his father considered good. Recalling some of the projects that made the cut, Paresh said, “There was one role that I was very happy essaying. I put a lot of hard work into it and that was Sardar (1993). I got a chance to do a biopic. It was very close to my heart. Another role, which was also sort of a biopic, was Tamanna (1997). But that film’s second half went haywire. It was based on a real-life character, Tiku. Then came Oye Lucky Lucky Oye (2008). It’s also close to my heart. In Mumbai Meri Jaan (2008), I got to essay a lovely character. The Storyteller (2025) mein bahut maza aaya, followed by Hera Pheri (2000), Dacait (1987), etc. I can’t list all 11, but I can assure you there are 11 such films.”Paresh made his acting debut with ‘Holi’ in 1984 and initially established himself through his performances in negative and serious roles. He went on to earn recognition for films such as ‘Naam’ (1986), ‘Kabzaa’ (1988) and ‘Sir’ (1993). His performances in ‘Sir’ and ‘Woh Chokri’ earned him the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor.Over time, Paresh successfully transitioned to comedy, with his portrayal of Baburao Ganpatrao Apte in ‘Hera Pheri’ (2000) becoming one of the most memorable characters of his career. He subsequently entertained audiences with his performances in comedies such as ‘Hungama’, ‘Garam Masala’, ‘Chup Chup Ke’, ‘Bhagam Bhag’ and ‘Welcome’.Apart from comedy, the actor has also been part of films such as ‘Sardar’, ‘OMG – Oh My God!’ and ‘Table No. 21’. In recognition of his contribution to Indian cinema, he was conferred the Padma Shri in 2014.
