Amol Palekar is one of the most sensitive and socially conscious theatre and film director and actor of India. The veteran is best known for playing the unassuming boy next door in iconic films such as Gol Maal, Choti Si Baat, Rajnigandha and Baaton Baaton Mein. As he returns to the stage after 25 years with ‘Kusur’, an adaptation of the Danish thriller Den Skylidge, written by his wife, Sandhya Gokhale, TMM asks him the reason behind the long gap and his take on the new-age theatre festivals.
You returned to theatre after 25 years with Kusur. How do you think your return has been welcomed? On a personal level, are you happy with the play and the way it has been received?
For anyone, 25 years is a very long time. After such a huge gap it becomes a hard path to be back in form. It is like you knew how to do something but it becomes a little blurry and after some time you again get a hang of it. The response has been very overwhelming and extremely fulfilling. There is a pin-drop silence for 90 minutes of the play. Here at Delhi, we received a standing ovation which moved me.
Why were you away from the stage for so long?
I never came across such a project that indulged me as a performer. I act to fuel my passion for acting not for commercial purposes. But if I take the liberty to answer why I came back, as It was my wife’s gift. It was she who insisted that I should perform. She insisted that I should read the script and when I read the script that was such a huge challenge. I possibly couldn’t say no to that. I was also testing myself all over again, whether I would be able to take up this challenge at this age? But I am happy now that I have taken up the challenge. All I can say that there cannot be a better way of completing the cycle! Amol Palekar
You have mentioned earlier that it was Satyadev Dubey who taught you the basics of acting. Do you think acting is something that can be taught?
I believe that it can be and I am an example of one such process.
Your play Kusur is the opening play at the 21st Bharat Rang Mahotsav. Do you believe theatre festivals are important as they take plays to smaller cities where people generally don’t have access to the good theatre?
Yes, they play a key role in the process of making people aware of the art. Also, such festivals help build a conversation between the like-minded people, which often leads to the creation of something new and innovative for public consumption.
In today’s times, what do you think the aim of theatre should be?
The interaction between one human being with another is the crux and magic of theatre. This has remained the same over the years. The aim of the theatre is to keep on questioning and increase scientific temper. Amol Palekar
As an actor and director, what type of plays, films or acting projects you would like to be associated with?
Why do I have to choose one? I enjoyed everything. Very few people get that opportunity. I was most privileged to dabble into three different spaces- visual art, performing art and moving image and all these three spaces, I kept on dabbling on my own terms. I did things only that I wanted to do and I believed in. Kitne logo ko, yeh saubhagya milta hai. I got that and I used it to the best of my ability. The best part is going against the flow or away from the mainstream which I went on doing in all these three spheres, people loved everything that I did and not only loved they respected me precisely for me doing it differently. They have nothing, but respect for me because I didn’t do it in a stereotypical manner or followed a certain track that will take me to the helms of success. ‘NO’, that was not my way. I went on doing things differently and success followed.
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