Paresh Rawal’s son Aditya: No fear of comparison with dad

By Sugandha Rawal

New Delhi, April 8  Veteran actor Paresh Rawal”s son Aditya is all set to enter the film industry, and is prepared for the extra scrutiny and extra pressure that comes with the tag of being a “star kid”. He says he isn’t bothered about being compared with his father as he is so “far ahead” in his career.

Aditya will make his acting debut with the ZEE5 original film “Bamfaad”.

Asked about the pressures that come with being a star kid, Aditya told IANS: “As kids of people, who are successful in the industry, we get a lot of advantages too. So we know about the trade off. If you get those advantages, then you must be prepared for the extra scrutiny and the extra pressure.”

“The advantages are massive, and then there is another side to it as well. My father is such an amazing actor and he”s had so much success that I am not afraid of people comparing me to him because I know that I”m nowhere near that,” he added.

Aditya continued: “My father is on another level completely. So, I don’t really have the fear of being compared to him because you know, he”s so far ahead. Personally, I’ve always been independent. So, for me, it”s always been about my own work, and just doing the best that I can do.”

Aditya was happy playing football professionally, till the time he realised acting was his true calling. Since then, he has been active on the theatre front, making short films and givings words to his visions and creative thoughts.

“My father was pleased (when he got to know my decision to act) because he had seen my college stuff. So, he knew that I had it in me. Even when I used to play football, I used to write poetry, write short films, short stories and all of that. He knew I had it in me. So he was happy that I was doing that,” Aditya recalled.

He did get a piece of advice from his parents and that was never to get lost in the glitzy world of showbiz, and never lose perseverance.

“One thing that both mom and dad spoke about was having the perseverance and the resilience. It is a hard field to be in, you could take a lot of knocks. The idea is that no matter how many times you fall, you have to get up and keep going.

“Another thing mom mentioned was whether you get immense success or terrible failure, just make sure you don’t forget yourself… That”s something that I try to hold on, he added.

At the moment, he is looking forward to “Bamfaad”. The movie, directed by debutant filmmaker Ranjan Chandel, will also mark the OTT debut of “Arjun Reddy” star Shalini Pandey.

Presented by Anurag Kashyap, the film about passion, friendship, betrayal, loss and love will go live on April 10. Set in Allahabad to a romantic volatile backdrop, the film promises to “bring out an unusual yet raw and edgy love story on the screen”.

Talking about the film, he said: “I am very excited and obviously nervous. The whole thing is in a bit of a surreal space, because you can’t actually go out and talk to people or do the regular rounds of promotion that would have been done otherwise. So in a way, it is a special thing in its own.”

(Sugandha Rawal can be contacted at sugandha.r@ians.in)