When art entrepreneur Sanjoy K. Roy introduced Amol Palekar to the stage of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) on Day 4, he said, “For those who don’t know, he celebrated his 80th birthday last year, but he looks 65!” Roy was not just alluding to the actor-director’s appearance, but also how he radiated creative vigour. Palekar, an actor by “accident,” a director by “choice”, and a painter by “nature”, discussed his 2024 book, Viewfinder: A Memoir (Westland) that traces six decades of his life. From being a graduate of JJ School of Art, his rise as a 1970s film star who offered an alternative hero to those times’ largerthan-life protagonists with hits like Gol Maal, Chitchor, Baaton Baaton Mein and Chhoti Si Baat, to his anti-establishment theatre activism for freedom of expression, and finding moments of peace in painting — the memoir is a candid account of his life and unconventional thinking.
Talking about the title, the actor said, “Viewfinder was an apparatus that was used by directors to enable them to choose which lens to use for a shot — say a close-up, long shot or wide angle. It provided a choice to directors. The tool is used as a metaphor to condense my 80 years of life enabling me to have a choice — what to reflect on and eliminate. It also has a touching story which the readers can find out by reading the book.”
The alternate hero
Palekar has played characters that lie on both ends of the spectrum — from the soft-spoken-boy-next-door in Gol Maal, Chhoti Si Baat, Baaton Baaton Mein, and Rajnigandha to the villain in Khamosh and Marathi film Aakriet. “It was when I played antagonists that my close friends said, ‘Oh this is the real Amol. All that goodie-goodie boy next door is him acting,” he said. Having worked in both mainstream feel-good movies to art house films, he said one can balance both. “Being popular, need not be flippant. And being thoughtful, need not be necessarily boring. I have always believed that doing something meaningful yet likeable and entertaining is quite possible.”
Palekar portrayed the average middle class through many of his characters like Tony Braganza (Baaton Baaton Mein), Ram Prasad (Gol Maal) and Sanjay (Rajnigandha). But are such ordinary characters vanishing from our screens? He disagreed, “The middle class which was portrayed in the ’70s and ’80s, does not exist today. People have become quite well-to-do so the characters have accordingly evolved. Also, let’s not expect it only from mainstream cinema to make films on meaningful subjects. The OTT has been giving ample choices to today’s audience — you can watch an Argentinian film, a Malayalam film or any other regional Indian film all in one place. It’s up to the filmmakers to make something relevant if they want to capture the audience who are looking for meaningful and not run-of-the-mill subjects.”
His memoir has over 23 QR codes scanning which readers can watch his films and plays for free for an “immersive” experience. “It makes the reading experience very contemporary and relevant to present times,” added film director, screenwriter, lawyer and Palekar’s partner Sandhya Gokhale who has also co-authored the memoir.
Art of resistance
The couple has been at the forefront of fighting censorship in the country. “Amol is not against any political party. Wherever there is unfairness or injustice, he will speak up,” said Gokhale. Responding to whether he was able to enjoy the freedom in various spheres of his life, Amol told TMS he was fortunate. “I think freedom is not something which is easily given to you. You have to demand it and be firm about your freedom. For instance, I have always resisted the spotlight despite living as a star. I refuse to follow the usual paraphernalia and buildup of the stardom around me. I always mingled with the people with whom I wanted to be and also retained my privacy. That way, I have exercised my freedom in every form — whether it is writing a memoir, theatre, films or painting.”