Veteran actor Amol Palekar was in Calcutta recently, with his better half and filmmaker Sandhya Gokhale, his recently released memoir Viewfinder in tow. At a special launch of the book at Starmark, City Centre Salt Lake, in conversation with Priyanka Roy of t2, Palekar and Gokhale discussed a career spanning 50 years in films, their common interest in anti-censorship laws, all things Gol Maal, and Palekar’s ‘Bengali connection’.
Your connection with Calcutta and with Bangla is very strong...
Amol Palekar: My connection with Bangla, now it’s like… jong dhore giyechhe! But let me start with a very interesting anecdote. All Bengalis used to write my name as it is written in Bengali: aw-mol. And I used to say, “No no, I don’t write my name like that. My name is written as a-mo-l”, and they used to immediately respond, “Hyan, tai toh! Aw-mol!” So that’s my first connection with Bengal.
I was privileged enough to be associated with some great people here… Badal (Sircar) da and then also in the film industry, right from Satyajit Ray to Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Basu Chatterjee, Tapan (Sinha) da…. I didn’t know back then, and even today I don’t know if I really deserve it… I don’t know what they saw or found in me, but they gave me a lot of love and they gave it to me in abundance. All my growth as an artiste is because of what they contributed, so I am absolutely grateful to my Bengal connection and I will always remain grateful.
There is a very emotional part in Viewfinder where you talk about Hrishikesh Mukherjee and how he introduced you as his son. What did that mean to you?
Amol: My relationship with Hrishida quickly changed into a father-and-son relationship. Hrishida knew me much before I worked with him in Gol Maal. He used to come regularly to watch my plays, and he would appreciate them and talk in detail about their nuances. But when he approached me for a film, I decided not to work with him because of his reputation. He was considered a terror director... because he would not share the script! I had decided that I wouldn’t work with him. En route to his house, I was rehearsing in my mind how to say ‘no’ to his offer politely, without hurting or insulting him. But we went on to do four films together, and we couldn’t do the fifth one because of practical difficulties with me and Utpal (Dutt) da. He wanted to do Jhoot Bole Kauwa Kaate with us, which ultimately he did with Anil Kapoor and Amrish Puri ji.
Viewfinder is rich in memories, nostalgia, and information. It’s really a one-of-a-kind memoir. What prompted it and what prompted it now?
Sandhya Gokhale: For the last decade or so, many publishers have insisted that he write for them. But somehow he never could find time because he is a very active man. He does paintings, he does exhibitions, he did theatre…. and he’s also shy, he likes staying away from the glitter and glamour. But during Covid, he got that solitude that he needed… and introspection is a very excruciating process. He is very honest so it was not very easy, but he took four months to write about 450 pages. He has an amazing memory.
Having said that, he doesn’t remember the dates of the films, the shooting… So that was something that we had to really struggle to get right. Other than that, every other memory was there. But for two or three years after, I didn’t have the time to put it together... he really wanted me to work on it. So it took time to amalgamate it, and to have themes for the chapters; all that was very painstaking work. It took me about six months to do that.
Amol: I would just like to add that iss kitaab ko rang, roop, akaar, and also the fragrance, whatever it is, is all due to her.
The book starts with a very specific incident that happened very recently and then goes on to describe how you’ve always spoken against censorship, both in life and in art. Why did you start with that? Also, tell us about the QR codes that you’ve included in the book, which direct to a whole lot more information on things the book touches upon.
Sandhya: Non-linearity is something we chose to have because we didn’t really want to go with a mundane, banal narration. There’s also the fact that people really don’t know him that much, because he stays away from the limelight. So what he actually has done in life is what we wanted to put together in the book. When people approach him, they have this image of Lakshmanprasad and Ramprasad (from Gol Maal), but in reality, this man is totally different. Sometimes people get shocked by how serious or intellectual he is. He is so much more than those characters. We also wanted to show how rebellious and forthright he has been throughout his life. And that’s why we thought, let’s shock people first. Let them see the unseen part of Amol Palekar first. And then they can flow with it.
Amol: I have been privileged enough to indulge in so many fields from the visual arts: theatre and films. And in all of that, I have been actor, director, producer. In all these aspects, people hardly know who Amol Palekar is. And I have always tried to tell them that what they know of Amol Palekar is only very little. The Amol Palekar beyond that is much more. Good, bad, whatever it is — even ugly, maybe! But they should try and see that and then pass judgment; be it bad, ugly, or good. So this is an attempt in that direction.
It is your nature to call a spade a spade, and in this memoir, you have named names, even in prickly situations, across generations. Were there any apprehensions at any point in time to name people?
Sandhya: Actually, the naming is in the context. It’s not naming for the sake of naming. For instance, he’s talked about the difference or the conflict between a director and an actor, or a director and a writer. While showing the importance of interpretation, that is when he has named people. The idea was not to malign or to look down upon anyone or to provide shock value. There was no holding back because we were and still are trying to make a point. We are not just naming people or bad-mouthing them.
Amol: I came into the film industry by accident. I have written about all the accidents that changed my life. The industry welcomed me with warmth and affection. I have mentioned Shashi Kapoor. I have mentioned O.P. Nayyar. I have mentioned David saab. Shashi Kapoor was a huge star! For him to knock on my door and come in and say, ‘Mujhe Shashi Kapoor kehte hai, I just wanted to welcome you to the industry….’ To think of it even now is giving me goosebumps! And then during my journey, there were experiences where I had to convey my dissent, I had to convey my protest, I had to say ‘no’ to certain things. So all these things are part of my journey. I can’t do anything if I am not honest doing them. It would have been fake and the only thing I ever genuinely tried to achieve was the honesty in my performances. Even when I played a villain, I did it honestly. I never did a role just to impress people. I wanted that character to be believable with all its vulnerability, with all its bad qualities, all of it. Honesty is my core.
Sandhya: What makes this book different from many others is that he has acknowledged his flaws, he has acknowledged his bad choices, or he has very open-heartedly stated when and where he ought to have done things differently. So it’s truly like a conversation with himself and in the process he involves you, the reader, also.
You’ve written about how you had a ‘mental barrier’ to stardom and how you didn’t chase after producers for roles and yet here we are 50 years later talking about you and your work. Would you say an actor craves being recognised, or did that satisfaction come to you from the process of making a film itself?
Amol: My satisfaction is from what I have created, whether it’s just a role or it’s a film or it’s a play. That has always been what I have tried to achieve. And once that process was over, I came out of that headspace and I had the capacity to look at my own work, understand what mistakes I had made, and then improve upon it.
Did you ever have a funny encounter with a fan?
Amol: I wouldn’t know about that because I would run away from fans! I would merrily go to our old haunts — Irani restaurant, coffee shop, all those places — and I continued doing it. And that pleasure was far more than somebody approaching me and going: ‘Oh, Amol Palekar?!’ Many times, I would say with a blank face: ‘No!’
It was our daughter, Samiha, who not only protested, but she also made me change. She said: ‘Why are you doing this? Why are you refusing them when they come with such love and affection? Why do you say no?’ We both remember this one time when we were walking down the street, and Samiha held my hand and whispered: ‘There are two ladies who are coming our way. They are going to ask for your autograph. I can see that, and you’re not going to say no!’ I still say ‘no’, but now sometimes, I say: ‘Okay, yes!’
Gol Maal is a film that transcends generations. Hrishikesh Mukherjee has said that you and Utpal Dutt were a very popular pair; a bromantic pair, in today’s terms! Could you talk about the chemistry you had with him?
Amol: Hrishida called us the best romantic pair he had! We both used to love our drinks in the evening, so we used to sit down together and chat till the cows came home. And it was such a wonderful, wonderful bond that we had. You see, those times were different. They were so lovely. And particularly in Gol Maal, the kind of cast that we had — there was no competition among the actors.
You will remember that scene in Gol Maal when in the evening there is a party and Utpalda notices Dina ben (Pathak) the first time. Dina ben is sitting on a jhula and he is trying to question her. I suggested to Utpalda that while trying to question her, he might try to sit down on the jhula with her. He loved that idea and you can see in the film that all through the scene he keeps trying to sit on the jhula next to her. But he can’t because the jhula is constantly swinging! And it’s such a hilarious scene, without anyone even actively doing anything, and without it trying to be overly comic. These are the kind of moments which made the whole atmosphere almost like a picnic. We had a ball!
And then my character, Lakshmanprasad… if you remember my entry, I take out a comb as though it were a knife! That was a suggestion given by Utpalda. So this was the kind of camaraderie that existed between all the actors and what is special about Gol Maal is that feeling of camaraderie, that feeling of happiness, that feeling of having a ball that the audience is able to also feel.
Subhalakshmi Dey
Picture: Biswajit Kundu
