‘There Is A Fear Of Disappearing’

‘God
can
you
get
work,
but
once
you
get
it,
you
have
to
do
it
with
honesty
and
put
your
100
percent
into
it.’

Pavan
Malhotra
is
the
kind
of
actor
our
star-system
discourages
and
decimates
out
of
fear
of
being
outshone.

Saeed
Mirza
gave
Pavan
his
first
full-fledged
main
lead
in

Salim
Langde
Pe
Mat
Ro.
Before
that,
Pavan
gained
popularity
through
the
television
serial

Nukkad,
where
his
character
Hari
was
a
hit.

Salim
Langde
required
months
of
preparation.
Pavan
had
to
walk,
talk
and
behave
a
like
young
Muslim
from
Dongri
(south
Mumbai),
who
reforms
from
ruffian
to
responsible
after
he
gets
to
know
about
the
plight
of
Muslims
during
a
communal
riot.

To
add
to
the
character’s
woes,
Salim
had
a
limp
in
his
walk,
and
Pavan
totally
nailed
it.

Bagh
Bahadur
(1989)
was
Pavan’s
toughest
role
to
date.
He
played
a
cityslicker
with
a
normal
life,
who
heads
home
to
his
village
every
year
to
play
a
tiger
on
stage.

He
convinced
Director
Buddhadeb
Dasgupta
that
only
he,
Pavan,
could
portray
the
tiger-man.
And
he
was
a
masterclass.

As
he
wins
a
National
Award
for
Best
Supporting
Actor
for
the
Haryanvi
film

Fouja,
Pavan
tells

Subhash
K
Jha,
“In
the
profession
I
am,
you
keep
working
—
as
long
as
your
hands
and
legs
are
working,
as
long
as
you
are
getting
work,
as
long
as
someone
is
showing
faith
in
you
and
you
get
good
roles…”

Congratulations
on
your
richly
deserved
National
Award
for

Fouja.

Yes,
this
National
Award
is
the
second
one.

Both

Salim
Langda
Pe
Mat
Ro
and

Bagh
Bahadur
got
National
Awards
for
Best
Film.
I
was
in
every
scene
but
I
didn’t
win.

In
1988,
I
finally
got
it
for
Gautam
Ghosh’s

Fakir.

A
National
Award
is
a
great
honour.

Even
last
time,
I
was
very,
very
happy
and
thankful
to
God
that
my
work
is
recognised.

You
started
your
career
with

Nukkad
in

1986.
How
do
you
view
your
journey
so
far?

If
I
look
back,
there
are
two
kinds
of
thoughts.

One,
I
thank
God
from
time
to
time
that
I
did
good
work.

Nukkad
happened,
then
the
film

Salim
Langde
Pe
Mat
Ro…

I
have
also
been
a
production
manager
and
I
only
had
this
in
mind
that
I
was
doing
it
so
that
I
get
a
decent
work
as
an
actor.

Because
of

Salim
Langde
Pe
Mat
Ro
and

Bagh
Bahadur,
more
work
kept
coming.

I
got
the
British
film

Brothers
in
Trouble,
Anurag
Kashyap’s

Black
Friday,,
Amit
Rai’s

Road
to
Sangam…

I
did
not
know
these
directors.
Everyone
came
forward
because
of

Salim
Langde
and

Bagh
Bahadur.

These
two
films
brought
me
in
the
bracket
of
the
hero,
which
is
very
important,
as
people
start
seeing
you
that
way
and
believing
that
you
can
deliver
in
the
main
role.

I
feel
success
and
recognition
have
not
come
in
enough
measures
for
you.

I
agree.
Things
kept
happening
but
after
a
lot
of
gaps.

Like
once,
I
remember
during

Black
Friday,
a
director
met
me,
and
he
was
sad:
‘Pawanji,
you
are
amazing,
you
disappear
and
then
come
back
with
the
same
power.’

God
has
blessed
me,
otherwise
with
such
long
gaps,
there
is
a
fear
of
disappearing.
But
I
kept
getting
something
or
the
other.

At
first,
everyone
used
to
talk
about
the
underworld
and
how
well
I
do
it.

Then
they
started
saying
that
he
does
Punjabi
very
well
too.

Are
you
satisfied
with
the
recognition
that
has
come
to
you?

It’s
a
mixed
feeling.

I
always
say
that
this
is
like
flowing
water,
so
desires
are
always
there.
In
the
profession
I
am,
you
keep
working
—
as
long
as
your
hands
and
legs
are
working,
as
long
as
you
are
getting
work,
as
long
as
someone
is
showing
faith
in
you
and
you
get
good
roles…

I
am
thankful
that
such
a
body
of
work
has
been
created
and
there
are
retrospectives
of
my
work.

In
fact,
I
had
never
thought
that
someone
would
do
my
retrospective.

Things
have
been
good,
I
cannot
complain.

But
if
I
want,
I
can
keep
getting
good
work.

Amitabh
Bachchan
is
a
very
big
example.
You
should
keep
doing
your
work
diligently.

So
no
complaints?

I
can’t
complain.

I
am
living
a
much
better
life
than
lots
of
people
in
this
country
and
in
the
world.

God
can
you
get
work,
but
once
you
get
it,
you
have
to
do
it
with
honesty
and
put
your
100
percent
into
it.

Even
now,
people
offer
a
role
of
‘two
scenes,
three
scenes,
two
days’
work,
and
you
know
it’s
a
very
big
film,
so
do
you
refuse?

That’s
how
life
has
been.

I
have
tried
to
stay
honest
to
my
work.

Some
people
have
supported
me,
like
Rakeysh
Mehra.
I
got
a
lot
of
recognition
for

Bhaag
Milkha
Bhaag.
So
I
always
say
that
God
has
been
very
kind.

What
attracted
you
to
the
role
in

Fouja?

The
subject
is
very
close
to
my
heart.

It’s
about
joining
the
army;
I
feel
we
have
to
respect
soldiers.

For
more
than
75
years,
the
kind
of
discipline
they
have
is
very
inspiring.