Actor Paresh Rawal appointed Chairman of National School of Drama
New Delhi, September 10, 2020
Well-known film and theatre actor Paresh Rawal has been appointed as the Chairman of the National School of Drama (NSD) in Delhi.
"We are glad to inform Hon’ble President of India @rashtrapatibhvn has appointed renowned actor & Padma Shri @sirpareshrawal as chairman of @nsd_india," the institution announced on its official Twitter page today.
"NSD family welcome the legend to shower his guidance to NSD for achieving new height," it added.
Rawal, 65, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Ahmedabad East constituency in Gujarat in May 2014 as a candidate of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has won wide acclaim for his roles in Bollywood films, especially as a villain and comedian.
In 1994, he won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in the films Woh Chokri and Sir. For the latter, he received his first Filmfare Award for Best Comedian. This was followed by Ketan Mehta's Sardar, which saw him playing the lead role of freedom fighter Vallabhbhai Patel, a role that got him national and international acclaim.
His notable roles include those in Naam (1986), Shiva (1990), Mohra (1994), Tamanna (1996), Aitraaz (2004), Table No. 21 (2013) and Zilla Ghaziabad (2013).
As a comedian, he won popularity with roles in films such as Andaz Apna Apna (1994), Chachi 420 (1997), Hera Pheri (2000), Nayak (2001), Aankhen (2002), Awara Paagal Deewana (2002), Hungama (2003), Hulchul (2004), Deewane Huye Paagal (2005), Garam Masala (2005), Phir Hera Pheri (2006), Golmaal: Fun Unlimited (2006), Bhagam Bhag (2006), Malamaal Weekly (2006), Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), Welcome (2007), One Two Three (2008), Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! (2008), Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge? (2010), OMG – Oh My God! (2012), Welcome Back (2015), Dharam Sankat Mein (2015), Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), Sanju (2018), Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi (2018) and Made in China (2019).
A Gujarati who was born and brought up in Mumbai, Rawal is married to actress and former Miss India Swaroop Sampat.
Both he and his wife have also been active on the Gujarati stage. He has also produced several Hindi soap operas for television.
He was honoured by the Government with the Padma Shri in 2014.
The NSD is one of the foremost theatre training institutions in the world and the only one of its kind in India. It was set up by the Sangeet Natak Akademi as one of its constituent units in 1959. In 1975, it became an independent entity and was registered as an autonomous organization under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860, fully financed by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
Training in the School is highly intensive and is based on a thorough, comprehensive, carefully planned syllabus which covers every aspect of theatre and in which theory is related to practice. As a part of their training, students are required to produce plays which are then performed before the public.
Some of the notable alumni of the school include Naseeruddin Shah, Amal Allana, Anupam Kher, Annu Kapoor, B V Karanth, Irrfan Khan, M K Raina, Nadira Babbar, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Neena Gupta, Om Puri, Pankaj Kapur, Pankaj Tripathi, Raj Babbar, Raghubir Yadav, Ratan Thiyam, Ratna Pathak Shah, Rohini Hattangadi and Sai Paranjpye.
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