Paresh Rawal Names Only 11 Good Films in 250-Plus Career

At the Jagran Film Festival, Paresh Rawal put his four-decade filmography through a strict quality filter: more than 250 films, only 11 worth counting.

The 11-film test

During a conversation after the premiere of Pastt Tense, Rawal was asked whether he had ever counted his films. He laughed and said, “I only remember the good films.” When the host put the total at around 250, the actor suggested the number could be higher, but maintained that only 11 titles made the grade.

His son Aditya Rawal confirmed that he had actually counted the films his father rates. Paresh Rawal did not list all 11, but he named several:

• Sardar (1993) — the biopic he called “very close to my heart.”
• Tamanna (1997) — drawn from a real-life figure, though he felt the second half went off track.
• Oye Lucky Lucky Oye (2008) — another role he holds close.
• Mumbai Meri Jaan (2008) — a character he enjoyed playing.
• The Storyteller (2025) — a recent performance that gave him joy.
• Hera Pheri (2000) — Baburao, among his most popular comic creations.
• Dacait (1987) — an early credit he still rates.

Why a veteran’s own canon matters

This is less an actor dismissing his work than a way of separating longevity from quality. Rawal built his early reputation in negative roles in Naam, Kabzaa and Sir, won a National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for Sir and Woh Chokri, then became a comedy fixture in Hungama, Garam Masala, Chup Chup Ke, Bhagam Bhag and Welcome. The Padma Shri followed in 2014. Yet the films he named do not stop at prestige; they move between the serious and the comic.

A personal canon is the small set of works an artist chooses to stand behind. It is different from a box-office hit, an award, or a famous character. Rawal’s list is a reminder that an actor’s own memory is part of the archive.

What to take from it

For audiences, the comment is a starting point rather than a complete guide, because the full list remains unstated. It makes the case for revisiting Sardar and Tamanna alongside Hera Pheri and Oye Lucky Lucky Oye. And it frames Hera Pheri’s Baburao Ganpatrao Apte, one of his most popular roles, as just one entry in a much older, carefully self-judged career.

Source: Hindustan Times