Amol Palekar Profile

Amol Palekar is a well known actor of the ’70s and later director of notable Indian movies.  Amol Palekar was born in a Maharashtrian Saraswat Brahmin family. He attended Sir J. J. School of art in Bombay. Amol Palekar started his acting career with the Marathi experimental stage with Satyadev Dubey. Later he established his own group “Aniket”. Amol Palekar introduced street theatre in Maharashtra.

After graduation from J J School of Arts, Amol Palekar started working as a part time clerk. But his affinity for acting brought him to Marathi plays during the evenings. So Amol Palekar ended up living a dual life – a clerk in the morning and director-actor by evening.

But things changed drastically for him when he was offered his first Hindi film ‘Rajnigandha’ by noted director Basu Chatterjee. He played his usual self – a clerk – in the movie and then onwards, everything clicked for this versatile actor. He was offered number of movies like ‘Chhoti Si Baat’, ‘Baaton Baaton Mein’, ‘Damaad’, ‘Chitchor’, ‘Gharonda’, ‘Rang Birangi’ and ‘Naram Garam’ where he could open up himself as an actor with a varied amount of roles.

Amol Palekar was an actor who always played the middle class man and the masses loved him for that. Though paired maximum with Vidya Sinha and Zarina Wahab. Amol Palekar has also worked with ramp stoppers Swaroop Sampat and Tina Munim. Then came more of his movies like ‘Do Ladke Dono Kadke’ before he shifted his attention towards direction.

His directorial ventures like ‘Thodasa Romani Ho Jaaye’, ‘Mrignaini’ and ‘Darmiyan’ proved that he made an equally good director as an actor. He also directed Shah Rukh Khan in Red Chillies Entertainment’s Paheli which was the official entry from India to the Oscars in 2005.

Amol Palekar became one of the most popular actors in Hindi cinema in the 70s and 80s, winning 3 Filmfare Best Actor awards and 6 state film awards.

Amol Palekar’s acting is naturalistic and understated, as opposed to the histrionic, melodramatic performances typical of Bollywood. However, he does techniques that have become audience favorites, such as a difficulty with finding words when stressed, almost to the point of stammering. He usually plays “the Good Indian Boy.

Interestingly, in his entire career he has never portrayed a Muslim or a Sikh (though he did portray an Indian Catholic in Baaton Baaton Mein in 1977) which is considered de rigueur for mainstream Bollywood stars in order to cultivate the widest possible fan base in a country with substantial minorities.

Amol Palekar turned to directing with the Marathi film Aakriet.
He showed his capabilities as a director with his movie Paheli which was India’s official entry in the race for Best Foreign Film at the 2006 Oscars. The movie, however, did not make it to the final nominations.

Palekar has exhibited his sketches, drawings, and paintings in Mumbai. He also does some social work and he is married to Sandhya Gokhale.

Amol Palekar says, ‘I was an actor purely by accident, a producer by compulsion and a director by choice.’ Direction clearly is his forte. His movies deal with hard hitting, and often difficult subject matter – girl child sacrifices, issues of male and female sexuality, birth control in 1920s India…. Yet Amol Palekar’s films have a gentle poetry to their story telling while they deal with complex real world issues.

Filmography:

As Director – Paheli
As an Actor – Chitchor, Meri Biwi Ki Saadi,
Chhoti Si Baat,
Naram Garam,
Rangbiranga,
Rajnigandha,
Golmaal

Original Name    :  Amol Palekar
Date of Birth       :  20 November, 1944
Eye Color             :  Black
Hair Color           :  Black
Birth Place          :  Mumbai
Religion                :  Hindu
Marital Status     :  Married
Languages            :  Hindi, English, Marati.
Film Career         :  Actor and director
Debut Film           :  Baaton Baaton Mein