Pawan Malhotra said on receiving the National Award for ‘Fauja’, ‘I am proud that the film made on the Indian Army got the National Award.’
Actor Pawan Malhotra is happy to win the National Award for the second time. He spoke to us exclusively about winning the Best Supporting Actor award for his performance in the Haryanvi film ‘Fauja’.
Actor Pawan Malhotra won his second National Film Award on Friday, August 16. The actor spoke exclusively to IndiaToday.in and expressed his happiness on winning the honour at the 70th National Film Awards for his Haryanvi film ‘Fauja’, based on the Indian Army.
He said his happiness knew no bounds as ‘Fauja’ was his tribute to the Indian Army and it got due recognition. “I am feeling great. This is my second National Award. The subject of this film is very close to my heart. It is about joining the Indian Army. I respect the Indian Army a lot. I am very proud that I got a National Award for such a subject,” he said.
Malhotra spoke about working in a regional film, especially for the Haryanvi market, where it is difficult to get a wider audience. When asked if the National Award strengthens his belief in the audience accepting better content irrespective of the language, he said, “I think it is so. It is difficult to get people from Haryana to watch a film. Even if it is a Haryanvi film. At least that is what I saw.”
The actor, known for his work in Bollywood films such as “Jab We Met”, “Black Friday”, “OMG 2”, “Mission Raniganj”, said he wants “Fauja” to be screened in schools for students. “When they released the film, schools showed a lot of interest in showing it, but exams were going on at that time. The timing was wrong. Hopefully, it will now be screened on Doordarshan,” he said.
The actor narrated an incident that shows how the story of the film has etched itself in his heart and mind forever. He said, “A few months ago, I went to Delhi and went to the war memorial. I was picking up souvenirs. I haven’t worn a watch for many years. I saw a watch in those souvenirs. It probably cost Rs 1,100. Honestly, no actor wears such a cheap watch. I picked it up and I saw that the watch had the Battle of Longewala (part of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971) etched on the dial. I found it priceless. I wore it. Now I show it to small children. I meet them and greet them by saying ‘Jai Ho’. I cannot express in words how much love and respect I have for the Indian Army.”
Pawan Malhotra won his first National Award for his performance in the 1998 film ‘Fakir’. He has worked in over 55 films in different languages and over 16 TV shows in a career spanning nearly 40 years.
