An artist who has straddled the world of visual arts, theatre, and cinema with distinction, Amol Palekar’s Viewfinder is a fascinating account of his creative journey.
In an industry where people revel in holding on to a popular image, Palekar has invested a lifetime challenging established conventions and norms. Days after the Supreme Court decided to examine his seven-year-old plea questioning pre-censorship in films, Palekar hopes it will be taken up soon. “I hope it is heard when I am still alive,” the 80-year-old deadpanned, for his separate petition on pre-censorship in theatre has been pending in the Mumbai High Court since 2017.
‘Protect art and the artist’
Known for his committed stance on social issues, Palekar says it is the government’s “duty to protect the art and the artist” and tell those “creating nuisance to shut up.” “The government can’t give in to trolls on social media and absolve itself from its duty to safeguard the freedom of expression,” he contends.
Though he never wanted to be stuck with the boy-next-door image of Gol Maal’s protagonist, the title of his memoir reflects his deep association with director Hrishikesh Mukherjee. The “viewfinder” refers to Bimal Roy’s device , which Mukherjee, Roy’s disciple, passed on to Palekar to discover his cinematic universe.
Palekar was more fascinated by the kaleidoscopic view from a young age and created his own Daayraa (The Square Circle, 1996). “How with a simple twist, the pattern inside changes attracted me. Similarly, with limited permutations and combinations, the perspective of text changes dramatically, and the same emotion becomes much more interesting and vibrant.” His eyes light up when asked to recall some of his struggles with himself, and the outside world, in breaking away from the mainstream. “Isn’t that how life is? Complex, multi-dimensional, and full of dilemmas?”
In the days of the angry young man, when the country was charmed by his alternative everyman image in Rajnigandha (1974), Chhoti Si Baat (1976), and Chitchor (1976), Palekar was gung-ho about portraying grey characters in Gharaonda (1977) and Bhumika (1977). Few know that the banker-turned-actor would do a social audit of his villainous parts before signing up. Always interested in exploring what goes on beyond the words, as a director, he reinterpreted texts of literary giants to create formidable works like Ankahee (1985), Thodasa Roomani Ho Jayen (1990), and Paheli (2005) without trampling on artistic egos of original creators.
A still from Rajnigandha.
Several teachers
“Of course, I am a non-conformist but I am not a rebel by birth. Occasions and personalities shaped me. Where to stand by your belief and where not to get bogged down by it is something I learned while working with Satyadev Dubey, Basu Chatterjee and Hrishikesh Mukherjee.”
A young Palekar had a strong conviction he didn’t need permission of the writer to make his work concise or to interpret its context. “I got this perspective from playwright Badal Sircar when I took a different look at his play Pagla Ghoda. He said, “Why discuss with me? I reserve the right to say in public that you murdered my play, but that doesn’t stop you from making changes.”
A poster of Paheli.
Vijaydhan Detha allowed him similar leeway with Duvidha, on which Palekar’s Paheli is based. In Detha’s story, the village girl falls in love with a ghost who assumes the body of her husband. When the real husband returns, society consoles the girl that it was the ghost who cheated on her and the girl meekly accepts it. In the film, she tells her husband that the ghost didn’t cheat her and that she chose to allow the ghost into her intimate space. It was not that the husband was a bad person. In fact, when Palekar explained to Shah Rukh Khan that he needed an actor who could “nuance both roles with subtle variations of goodness,” he got invested in the role.”
Gender dynamics
From Akriet (1981) to Anaahat (2003), the exploration of gender dynamics and female desire has been a running theme in his filmography. Palekar says his understanding of women evolved with time and has to do with strong women in his life: “They have been instrumental in making me understand how a patriarchal society does not even consider the existence of a woman, forget about treating them with due respect.”
Amol Palekar on the sets. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Never considered for a Padma award, Palekar points out that he remained an outsider, both in theatre and cinema. Looking back, he says he evolved as an artist as he was not afraid of taking risks.
Viewfinder: A Memoir; Amol Palekar, Westland, ₹999.
Amol Palekar will be in conversation with film historian and author Balaji Vittal, in Bengaluru, at The Hindu Lit For Life Dialogue on December 20, 2024. Click here to register for the event.
anuj.kumar@thehindu.co.in
Published – December 13, 2024 09:00 am IST
