Control Shift

‘‘I am just on a sabbatical,’’ she laughs, brushing off attempts to make her pose. Gokhale is trying to suggest that the transition from being a US-based lawyer, who handled class action suits, to a scriptwriter, who specialises in feminist themes, is temporary. But her more experienced half, will have none of it. ‘‘It’s an extended and unending sabbatical,’’ comes the emphatic rejoinder from Palekar.

It has coincided with a new phase in his own career, once synonymous with middle cinema. Palekar shed an enduring screen persona as the diffident, Average Guy in the ’80s to helm sensitive, small-budget films right up to Anaahat, two years ago. Today, he is yet again breaking the mould with Paheli, a Shah Rukh Khan-Rani Mukerji starrer, that’s far removed from his regular brand of intimate cinema.

Bang in the middle of the post-production rush, the couple, who have a permanent residence in Pune, currently live out of a modestly-furnished suburban apartment by the seafront in Mumbai, shuttling between daily editing sessions and promotional events.

So, what gives?
‘‘Well, if I had made the same film with newcomers, it might have been termed an art film,’’ Palekar says. ‘‘But every subject has its requirements, the kind of language, texture, music it needs. I chose a Rajasthani folk tale and it called for a commercial format with songs and dances.’’

After a mainstream debut, which involved handling half of Bollywood—the heavyweight cast includes Amitabh Bachchan, Khan, Suniel Shetty, Mukerji, Anupam Kher, Juhi Chawla and Rajpal Yadav—Palekar is still unruffled and unrepentant. ‘‘I am certainly not averse to their stardom. In fact, it will help me take the film to a larger audience.’’

And he can’t stop raving about their level of professionalism. ‘‘Shah Rukh has the amazing ability to translate every thought into action.’’ Ditto for Bachchan. “He’s on the sets on the dot and doesn’t even have to refer to the script.’’

Star presence apart, Palekar admittedly did not allow mainstream methods to interfere with the groundwork he carries out before the camera rolls. From choice of locations to the use of language experts, the script had everything pencilled in before Khan and others came on board. ‘‘MM Kreem had already composed the tunes, Gulzarsaab was writing lyrics, and we had identified all the locations,’’ he says.

Vijaydan Detha’s Duvidha, a modern retelling of a folk tale, has played on Palekar’s mind for a long time now. Sandhya says even the adaptation emerged after ‘‘innumerable arguments with Amol, who’s quite difficult to please.’’ Indeed, the story of a Rajasthani village girl who’s denied any choices evokes a recurring theme in his movies: The right of the woman to choose.

Sandhya, though, has given the plot a new dimension to overcome the ‘‘inherent monotone’’ that she found in the story. ‘‘It makes a powerful impact, but I thought it was a little incomplete. I could not identify with her. I wanted to take the girl out of her pre-destined life,’’ she adds.

Palekar, too, admits that it is his scriptwriter’s search for a contemporary feel which gives the film its multi-layered richness.

Clearly, the blend of the mainstream and the meaningful lies in the chemistry between the couple.