Paresh Rawal clarifies 'colleague' remark about Akshay Kumar: 'There's nothing wrong between us'

The comment that Paresh Rawal made about Akshay Kumar—in which he called the actor a "colleague" instead of a "friend"—has been making waves recently. Both performers have appeared in numerous successful films together, but their comment during an interview with The Lallantop sparked rumours about a potential rift between them.

Paresh Rawal's perspective on industry friendships

The initial interview included a question about Rawal's friendship with Kumar. The veteran actor said, "Film industry mein colleague hote hain, theatre mein dost hote hain, aur school mein jigar jaan dost hote hain. But film ke andar colleagues hote hain. Mere dost jinko main with respect bol saku toh Om Puri sahab the, Naseer bhai hain, Johnny Lever hain. Ye hain jinko main dost bol saku. Ek hota hai na ki with permission."

Which loosely translates as "In the film industry, there are colleagues; in theatre, you find friends; and in school, you have close, heart-to-heart friends. But within the film world, they are colleagues. The people whom I can respectfully call my friends are the late Om Puri sahab, Naseeruddin Shah, and Johnny Lever. These are the people I can call my friends — with permission, you could say."

Clarification from Paresh Rawal after backlash

After receiving backlash for his remark, Rawal spoke with Bollywood Hungama to clarify that he and Kumar are on good terms. "Maatha kharab ho gaya, yaar!" he exclaimed. The veteran actor stated that his status as a colleague is all he mentioned. Friends are people one sees at least five or six times a month and has frequent phone conversations with. On top of that, Rawal shared that Kumar and he aren't really sociable. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that Kumar and Rawal will encounter any gatherings. To that end, he referred to him as a colleague and this led to conjecture. 

Rawal went on to say, "People are asking, ‘Kya ho gaya aap dono ke beech?’ [What happened between the two of you?] Arre bhai, kuch nahin hua [Nothing happened]."

Paresh Rawal on his equation with Akshay Kumar

He further responded, "No, he's a cool guy," when asked whether Kumar had watched the interview. Between them, they have been in 15 to 20 films together. Rawal added that Kumar is the kind of friend one wants by their side.

Rawal and Kumar have earlier worked together in hit films namely Aitraaz, Phir Hera Pheri, Welcome. 

Additionally, Rawal voiced his displeasure with the misinterpretation of his statements and promised to be more careful in the future when giving interviews. He concluded by saying, "I’ll be more than careful now. I’ll now spell out everything in black and white. People just take things out of context. It’s very tiring to clarify."

In terms of their careers, the two actors will be reuniting for upcoming films such as Bhooth Bangla, Welcome To The Jungle, and the highly anticipated Hera Pheri 3.