Amol Palekar (born 24 November 1944) is an Indian actor, director and producer of

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

and

Marathi cinema Marathi cinema is an Indian film industry of Marathi-language motion pictures. It is based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Based in old Mumbai, it is the oldest film industry of Indian cinema. The first Marathi film to be released in India was '' ...

Career

Palekar studied fine arts at the Sir JJ School of Arts, Mumbai, and commenced his artistic career as a painter. As a painter, he had seven one-man exhibitions and participated in many group shows. However, Palekar is better known as a stage and film actor. He has been active in the avant garde theatre in India in Marathi and Hindi theatre as an actor, director and producer since 1967. His contribution to the modern Indian theatre is often overshadowed by his popularity as a lead actor in Hindi films. As a film actor, he was most prominent in the 1970s. His image as a "boy next door" contrasted with the larger-than-life heroes prevalent at that time in Indian cinema. He received one

Filmfare award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

and six State awards as Best Actor. His performances in regional language films in Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam and Kannada fetched him critical acclaim as well. He decided not to act after 1986 in order to concentrate on filmmaking. As a director, he is known for the sensitive portrayal of women, selection of classic stories from Indian literature, and perceptive handling of progressive issues. He has directed several television serials on the national network such as ''Kachchi Dhoop'', ''Mrignayani'', ''Naquab'', ''Paool Khuna'' and ''Krishna Kali''.

Theatre journey

Palekar began in Marathi experimental theatre with Satyadev Dubey, and later started his own group, ''Aniket'', in 1972. As a theatre actor, he was part of popular plays like Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe, Hayavadana and Adhe Adhure. Following a performance on stage at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in 1994, he returned to theatre after a gap of 25 years with the suspenseful play, Kusur (The Mistake). This play is directed by him and he also plays the lead role.

Movie career

Palekar made his debut in 1971 with the Marathi film '' Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe'' directed by Satyadev Dubey, which started the New Cinema Movement in Marathi. In 1974 he was cast as an actor by

Basu Chatterjee Basu Chatterjee ( bn, বাসু চ্যাটার্জ্জী; 10 January 1927 – 4 June 2020) was an Indian film director and screenwriter. Through the 1970s and 1980s, Chatterjee became associated with what came to be known as mi ...

in '' Rajnigandha'', and in the surprise low-budget hit, ''

Chhoti Si Baat ''Chhoti Si Baat'' () is a 1976 Hindi-language romantic comedy coming of age film directed by Basu Chatterjee. Considered one of the best Hindi comedy films of the 1970s, it is a nostalgic favourite for its quirky take on pre-hypercongestion ...

''. This led to many other such roles in "middle-class" comedies, mostly alternative. These were mostly directed by Chatterjee or

Hrishikesh Mukherjee Hrishikesh Mukherjee (30 September 1922 – 27 August 2006) was an Indian film director, editor and writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of Indian cinema. Popularly known as ''Hrishi-da'', he directed 42 films during his ca ...

and included films such as ''

Gol Maal ''Gol Maal'' () is a 1979 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and written by Rahi Masoom Raza and Sachin Bhowmick. It was produced by N. C. Sippy, with music by R. D. Burman. The film won several awards and was ...

'' and '' Naram Garam''. He won the Filmfare Best Actor Award for ''Gol Maal''. He is noted for his image of the "middle-class everyman" who struggles to get a job (''

''), his own flat (''

Gharonda ''Gharaonda'' (''The Nest'') is a 1977 Hindi drama film, produced and directed by Bhimsain. The film stars Amol Palekar, Zarina Wahab, Shreeram Lagoo and Jalal Agha. The music is by Jaidev. Plot ''Gharonda'' explores the lives of Sudip (Amol P ...

''), a girlfriend/wife (''

Baaton Baaton Mein ''Baton Baton Mein'' () is a 1979 Indian romantic comedy film, produced and directed by Basu Chatterjee. The film stars Amol Palekar and Tina Munim in leading roles. David, Pearl Padamsee, Asrani and Ranjit Choudhary appear in supporting role ...

''), and appreciation from his boss. In 1979, he was paired with a sixteen-year-old Sridevi in Solva Saawan, which was her debut Hindi movie as a heroine. Amol played the role of an intellectually disabled man, a character played by Kamal Haasan in the original Tamil movie. In 1982 he played the role of Ravi in the

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

movie '' Olangal''. He turned to directing with the Marathi film ''Aakriet''. He showed his capabilities as a

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

with movies such as Thodasa Roomani Ho Jaayen and

Paheli ''Paheli'' () is a 2005 Indian Hindi-language fantasy film. It is a remake of the 1973 Hindi movie ''Duvidha'' by Mani Kaul based on the short story written by Vijayadan Detha in Rajasthani. It was also reported to have been partially inspired ...

. ''Thodasa Roomani Ho Jaayen'' has become a part of management courses and study pertaining to human behaviour. ''Paheli'' was India's official entry for Best Foreign Film at the 2006

Oscars The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

. The movie, however, did not make it to the final nominations. He has also given his voice to an

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

education animated software tutorial created by the nonprofit organization TeachAids. He is willing to act once again if he is given a challenging role.

Personal life

Amol Palekar was born to Kamlakar and Suhasini Palekar in a lower-middle-class family in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

. He was raised along with his three sisters, Neelon, Rekha and Unnati, by his father who worked in the General Post Office and his mother, who worked in a private company. He worked at the

Bank of India Bank of India (BOI) is an Indian public sector bank headquartered in Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai. Founded in 1906, it has been government-owned since nationalisation in 1969. BoI is a founder member of SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Inter ...

before he switched full-time to a career in acting. He also does some social work. He married Sandhya Gokhale after his divorce from his first wife, Chitra. Palekar regards himself as an agnostic atheist. In February 2022, Palekar was hospitalized in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

related complications.

Filmography

As an actor

As a director

* '' Aakreit'' (''Unimaginable'' in Marathi) – 1981 * '' Ankahee'' (''Unspoken'') – 1985 * '' Thodasa Rumani Ho Jaye'' – 1990 * '' Bangarwadi'' – 1995 * '' Daayraa'' (''The Square Circle'') – 1996 * '' Anahat'' (''Forever'') * ''Kairee'' (''Raw mango'') – 2001 * '' Dhyaas Parva'' (''Kal Kaa Aadmi'' in Hindi) – 2001 (based on Raghunath Karve's life, won the National Award for Best Film on Family Welfare) * ''

'' (''Riddle'') – 2005 ( India's official entry to the 78th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film) * '' Quest'' (English) – 2006 (won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English) * '' Dumkata'' (2007) * '' Samaantar'' (Marathi) – 2009 * '' ...And Once Again'' – 2010 * ''Dhoosar'' (Marathi) – 2011 (won the Maharashtra State Film Award)

Feature films in other regional languages

* ''Mother'' ( Bengali) (with

Sharmila Tagore Sharmila Tagore (also known as Begum Ayesha Sultana; born 8 December 1944) is a retired Indian actress, primarily known for her work in Hindi and Bengali cinema, Tagore is the recipient of two National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award, and the F ...

Dipankar Dey Dipankar Dey ( bn, দীপঙ্কর দে) (born 5 July 1944) is an Indian actor in the Bengali film industry. He has worked in many movies as hero, villain and character artist. He starred in Ray's ''Jana Aranya'' (''The Middleman'', 1 ...

) * ''Kalankini'' ( Bengali) (with

Mamata Shankar Mamata Shankar (born 7 January 1955) is an Indian actress and dancer. She is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has acted in films by directors including Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Rituparno Ghosh, Buddhadeb Dasgupta and Gautam Ghosh. I ...

– directed by

Dhiren Ganguly Dhirendra Nath Ganguly (26 March 1893 – 18 November 1978), better known as Dhiren Ganguly or D.G, was a Dadasaheb Phalke Award-winning and Padma Bhushan recipient film entrepreneur/actor/director of Bengali Cinema. He had set up a number of ...

) * ''Chena Achena'' ( Bengali) (with

Tanuja Tanuja Samarth, known mononymously as Tanuja, is an Indian actress who predominantly works in the Hindi film industry. Part of the Mukherjee-Samarth family, she is the daughter of actress Shobhna Samarth and producer Kumarsen Samarth, and wa ...

& Soumitra Chatterjee) * '' Kanneshwara Rama'' (

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

) (with

Anant Nag Dr Anant Nagarkatte (born 4 September 1948) is an Indian actor whose predominant contribution has been in Kannada cinema. He has acted in over 300 films which include over 200 Kannada films as well as Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam and En ...

Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of Hindi film, television and theatre. One of India's most acclaimed actresses, Azmi is known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several ge ...

– directed by M.S. Sathyu) * ''Paper Boats'' (

& English) (with Deepa – directed by Pattabhirama Reddy) * Olangal (

) (with

Poornima Jayaram Poornima Bhagyaraj (née Jayaram) is an Indian actress in Malayalam and Tamil films. She has also done a few Hindi and Telugu films. She is best known for her leading roles from 1980 to 1985. She married director K. Bhagyaraj, who directed one ...

Ambika Ambika may refer to: Mythology * Ambika (goddess), an avatar of the Hindu goddesses Durga, Parvati, and Shakti * Ambika (Jainism), a Jain Yakshini goddess * Ambika (Mahabharata), the wife of Vichitravirya was also the mother of Dhritarashtra, ...

– directed by

Balu Mahendra Balanathan Benjamin Mahendran (19 May 1939 13 February 2014), commonly known as Balu Mahendra, was a Sri Lankan-born Indian cinematographer, director, screenwriter and film editor who worked predominantly in Tamil cinema. Widely regarded as ...

)

TV serials

* '' Kachchi Dhoop'' – 1987 * ''Naqab'' – 1988 * ''Paoolkhuna'' – 1993 * ''Mrignayanee'' – 1991 * '' Kareena Kareena'' – 2004 * ''AA Bail Mujhe Maar'' – 1987 * ''Ek Nayi Ummeed-Roshni'' – 2015

Web Series

*'' Gormint'' * '' Farzi''

Awards

Reality television shows

* ''

lokesh Lokesh (; 19 May 1947 – 14 October 2004) was an Indian actor who appeared in Kannada plays and films. His wife Girija Lokesh is an actress and film director. His father was Subbaiah Naidu, who is credited to be first hero of Kannada silent m ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Palekar, Amol 1944 births Living people Palekar, Amol Palekar, Amol Indian atheists Hindi-language film directors Male actors in Marathi cinema Marathi film directors Palekar, Amol Palekar, Amol Male actors from Mumbai Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art alumni 20th-century Indian male actors Indian agnostics Male actors from Pune 21st-century Indian film directors Film directors from Mumbai Special Jury Award (feature film) National Film Award winners Directors who won the Best Film on Family Welfare National Film Award Directors who won the Best Film on Other Social Issues National Film Award Filmfare Awards winners