Amol Palekar: Mr Everyman who made way for Rajkummar Rao, Ayushmann Khurrana; broke the barriers of Bollywood’s star system

Theatre doyen Satyadev Dubey spotted Palekar hanging around in a theatre while his girlfriend (now former wife) Chitra rehearsed. Dubey cast him in a Marathi play, Shantata! Court Chaalu Aahe, not because he found him to be talented but because he felt Palekar had too much time to spare. But the play got rave reviews, and to Palekar’s surprise, his performance was described as ‘suave’ by a leading critic. He rushed with a copy of the newspaper to show it to Dubey and understand what “suave” meant.

Amol Palekar’s boy-next-door was relatable to the audience.

“He said, ‘Go and look up the dictionary. But don’t go gaga over the review.’ But he also added: ‘Now that people have found you good, we can start with the serious training.’ For the next play, he really trained us hard,” Palekar recalled during an interview with The Telegraph.

It was this accidental profession that got Palekar out of his clerical job of eight years at Bank of India, which he took up to support his passion for painting. He would work at the bank from 9 am to 6 pm and would paint after 6 pm. Coming from a lower middle-class family, the actor always respected money. He once shared with The Times of India, “Right through my childhood, we didn’t even own a radio and listened to songs on the neighbour’s radio. But because of the way my sisters Neelon, Rekha and Unnati, and I have been brought up, we have always respected money. I know my parents worked hard to earn it.”

Born to General Post Office employee Kamalakar and private firm clerk Suhasini Palekar, the veteran actor credits his parents for how his life shaped up. Despite coming from a non-arts background, they ‘allowed’ him to follow his heart, but with only one condition, ‘Don’t give up halfway’. “After I cleared the SSC exams, I wanted to dabble in fine arts rather than become a commercial artist. Baba asked me if I was prepared to lead a life of struggle; I was. Not many parents would free their only son of all responsibility and tell him to follow his heart,” the actor shared.

Palekar’s time with Dubey opened new vistas for him, and he honed his craft under his supervision. At this time, he was noticed by the likes of Basu Chatterjee, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Shyam Benegal, among others. It was Chatterjee who drew him into the cinematic fold. “Basu Chatterjee, Shyam Benegal, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, and a few other directors of those times, used to come and watch me in theatre. I was associated with Satyadev Dubey and was fortunate to be associated with the Hindi Theatre Movement also. Then, I branched out and started doing Marathi theatre. They used to come and watch me on a regular basis. They knew about all the experiments I was doing. During that time, Basu Da asked me if you would like to work in films,” he told Sansad TV.

He made his film debut in 1971 in the Marathi film Bajiraocha Beta. But his acting career took off with Basu Chatterjee’s Hindi language Rajnigandha in 1974. Earlier, he had refused to do Piya Ka Ghar (1972), opposite Jaya Bachchan, with the director. Later, he explained he didn’t want to “stand in a queue” to meet the producer Tarachand Barjatya of Rajshri Productions when the director had already approved of him. “Somehow, the image of me holding a begging bowl in front of a producer was disturbing to me,” he told The Indian Express.

Though Chatterjee found him “arrogant”, the incident didn’t sour their relationship. Together, they delivered a hat-trick of silver jubilee hits with Rajnigandha (1974), Chhoti Si Baat (1976) and Chitchor (1976). They did three more films together Baton Baton Mein, Apne Paraye and Jeena Yahan. Palekar felt, “Basuda’s narrative style was more authentic and consistently devoid of any set cinematic calculations. He would shy away from melodrama or theatrical twists and turns in his screenplay.”

Despite the massive success of Rajnigandha (1974), Chhoti Si Baat (1976) and Chitchor (1976), all of which had him playing a good-hearted everyman, Palekar refused to be boxed as the ‘boy-next-door’. So, he took up the role of Smita Patil’s shady husband in Shyam Benegal’s Bhumika and a manipulative hero in Bhimsen’s Gharonda, both of which he aced. But nowhere did he play not-a-hero better than in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Gol Maal (1979), where he played a young man making up stories to cosy up to his eccentric boss.

Hrishi da, who never gave narration to actors, made an exception for his Amu’, and explained everything that he needed to know about the movie. “Generally, I never discuss the artist’s role with them before filming begins but in Amol’s case, I did. I knew he always tried to get under the skin of the character, and being an intelligent actor, he came up with valid suggestions,” Mukherjee told Screen.

Amol Palekar and Utpal Dutt in a still from Gol Maal.

Though he made the most of the good roles with prolific directors, who brought the middle class to the screen, the actor felt his ‘biggest’ strength was saying ‘no’ and going against the tide. At the beginning of his career only, he rejected nine to ten films, without regret. “I never conformed to the set patterns,” the actor told Sansad TV, while adding, “I was one of the first actors who broke Bollywood’s star system. The fourth film I did was Shyam Benegal’s Bhumika where I played a villian. A lot of people asked me why I was playing a villain after delivering three hit films as a hero. I told them, ‘As an actor, this is one of the biggest challenges and I am enjoying myself thoroughly and I would do it’. I kept breaking barriers and as an actor, I kept looking for roles that challenged me.”

But Palekar felt the industry “never accepted me” as he told TOI, “I have always been the Lone Ranger.”

The poster boy of middle-of-the-road cinema refused to star in movies in 1986, and took up film direction. He made his directorial debut with the Marathi homicidal drama Akreit (1980), which was followed by notable Hindi films such as Ankahee (1985), Thodasa Roomani Ho Jaaye (1990), Daayraa (1996), Kairee (2000) and Paheli (2005). For his directorials, Palekar mostly picked up social issues. Kairee (1999) spoke of the rights of the girl child, Daayraa (1996) questioned notions of sexuality and presented a love story between a gender-fluid person and a woman cast out of her house. But he made sure not to be preachy. “Sandesh dene ke liye main film nahi banata, vo toh netaa karte hi rehte hain (I don’t make films to give a message. That is the job of politicians),” he once said in an interview.

Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji in Amol Palekar’s Paheli (Photo: Netflix)

But his vision as a director finds words on his website, “Exploring various dimensions of man-woman relationship is an underlying theme of most of my films. Through subversion of cumulative silence and prototypes of exploitation, my protagonists march towards love and empathy. I have also chosen to depict simple but autonomous, unconventional female characters.”

Palekar also helmed television shows, the most notable being Kachchi Dhoop (1987) and Mriganaynee (1991). The last film he directed was We Are On! Houn Jau Dya in 2013. All through this, Palekar also wore the hats of a painter and theatre artist. “The ecosystem was such that I could indulge in all three of my creative endeavours — painting, theatre and movies — between 1967 and 1984,” he said in a 2019 interview.

While many would think that he dabbled in the three creative fields for sheer love of them, he admitted he kept switching because he used to get “bored” with success. “My problem is that I easily get bored with what one calls success. It was considered an arrogant statement when I first made it, but when I do something well and people love it, I stop enjoying it. So the challenge is always to try something else,” Palekar told Scroll.

Smita Patil and Amol Palekar in Bhumika. (Express archive photo )

That he has lived life on his terms and has stayed non-conformist is evident from his unabashed views on politics and whatever happens in the country. He had no qualms about calling The Kashmir Files and The Kerala Story “propaganda films”. He raised his voice against the violation of free speech when he was interrupted at an exhibition at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) in 2019 for speaking against government policies. He also challenged the pre-censorship of films by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and suggested that the censor board’s role should be confined to certifying films.

He goes by the view, “As a citizen and a creative person, I am concerned about the contemporary space and our lives. If politics affects this space, then I will be involved. I don’t see an artist as an island who is unaffected by what is happening around him or her.” And no matter what the consequences be, he will continue to “criticise, question and protest”.

That is for real life. For the reel life, Amol Palekar will continue to be a reminder of an era gone by. He will always be a common man dealing with drudgery at work and difficult bosses, while finding happiness in small things of life.