Veteran Bollywood actor and BJP MP Paresh Rawal was appointed as the Chairman of the National School of Drama on September 10. The announcement was made on the official Twitter handle of the National School of Drama (NSD), an institution that has trained actors such as Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri and Irrfan Khan.
“We are glad to inform Hon’ble President of India @rashtrapatibhvn has appointed renowned actor & Padma Shri @sirpareshrawal as chairman of @nsd_india. NSD family welcome the legend to shower his guidance to NSD for achieving new heights.@prahladspatel @MinOfCultureGoI (sic),” stated a tweet on the official handle of NSD.
The post of Chairman had been vacant since 2017 and actor Arjun Deo has been serving as the Acting Chairman.
Rawal told PTI he is looking forward to the assignment.
“It will be challenging but fun. I will do my best because this is a field I know very well. I have practical experience of 48 years of doing theatre world over. I have some ideas. I will see to it that NSD ka zyada se zyada naam roshan ho' (NSD gets more name and fame),” the actor said.
The National Film award-winning actor, who started his journey in Gujarati theatre in 1972 and has been a part of plays such as Vairee, Jooth Bole Kauva Kaate and Kishan v/s Kanhaiya, said his vision is to reach out to more people through quality theatre.
“We must create new theatre spaces. They should be everywhere. It is important to take quality theatre forward and I want to work in that direction. I come from a theatre background so I understand the practical difficulties, which is an advantage,” he told PTI.
Rawal, who had represented Ahmedabad East constituency in the Lok Sabha, has been appointed as NSD chief for four years, said Nitin Tripathi, advisor, media, Ministry of Culture.
The National School of Drama was set up by the Sangeet Natak Akademi as one of its constituent units in 1959. It became an independent entity in 1975 and was registered as an autonomous organization and is currently a prominent training institution in the country.
Rawal, 65, with an experience of acting for around three decades, has been awarded numerous awards, including the prestigious National Film Award in 1994, for Best Supporting Actor in Woh Chokri and Sir. He has been honoured with the Padma Shri for his contribution towards the industry in 2014. Apart from acting, Rawal is a politician affiliated to Bharatiya Janata Party.
He is popularly known for his roles in Hera Pheri (2000), Hungama (2003), Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), and many more.
With PTI inputs