Paresh Rawal will play a Bengali character in his upcoming film. The actor takes up the role of a narrator in Ananth Mahadevan’s The Storyteller. The film is based on legendary film director Satyajit Ray’s short story, Golpo Bolo Tarini Khuro. His character is of a storyteller who is hired by a rich Gujarati businessman to help with his insomnia.
The Storyteller, which also stars Adil Hussain, Revathy and Tannishtha Chatterjee, had its world premiere at the 27th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) in October 2022.Actor Paresh recently spoke about playing a Bengali character in the adaptation, as he had played them before, but never for a feature film. He had acted in Badal Sarkar’s Bengali play Pagla Ghoda as well.
Last month, the actor had come under fire for his comments about the people of Bengal while on campaign in Gujarat. According to a PTI report, he had said, “Gas cylinders are expensive, but their price will come down. People will get employment too. But what will happen if Rohingya migrants and Bangladeshis start living around you, like in Delhi? What will you do with gas cylinders? Cook fish for the Bengalis?”
However, Paresh had apologised for his remarks and he clarified his meaning in an interview with Mid-Day. He said, “It was a slip of the tongue, and what I said was misconstrued. I genuinely didn’t mean any harm to anybody. It hurts me to know that Bengali people whose art, cinema and literature I look up to, misunderstood me.”
