Amol Palekar

Amol Palekar (born 24 November 1944) is an Indian actor, director, and producer of Hindi and Marathi cinema. He is also a painter and an author. Palekar was part of the faction in Hindi cinema that popularised 'middle cinema'. His most popular works include Chhoti Si Baat (1975), Chitchor (1976), Bhumika (1977), Baaton Baaton Mein (1979), and Gol Maal (1979).

Palekar was born to Kamlakara and Suhasini Palekar in a Marathi middle-class family in Mumbai. He has three sisters named Neelon, Rekha, and Unnati. His father worked in the General Post Office and his mother worked in a private company. Palekar studied fine arts at the Sir J. J. School of Art, Mumbai, and commenced his artistic career as a painter. As a painter, he has had seven solo exhibitions and participated in many group shows.

Although he trained in fine arts, 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 three Filmfare Awards and six Maharashtra State Film Awards as Best Actor for his works. His performances in regional language films in Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam, and Kannada fetched him critical acclaim. 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^{[citation needed]}. He has directed several television serials on national network such as Kachchi Dhoop, Mrignayani, Naquab, Paool Khuna and Krishna Kali.

Palekar began in Marathi experimental theatre with Satyadev Dubey. He 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. Before taking a break, his last performance on stage was at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in 1994. On account of the year he turned 75, he returned to theatre after a gap of 25 years with the suspenseful play, Kusur (The Mistake). This play was directed by him and he also played the lead role.

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 director Basu Chatterjee in Rajnigandha, and in the surprise low-budget hit, Chhoti Si Baat. This led to him getting more roles in "middle-class" comedies, mostly alternative. These were mostly directed by Chatterjee or Hrishikesh Mukherjee and included films such as Gol Maal 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 in Gol Maal, his own flat in Gharonda, and a partner Chhoti Si Baat.^{[citation needed]}