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photo s.s. kumar

Hands full Amol Palekar

One is the theatre festival he organises every year in Pune, and, the other, a film for children. He also snatched time to attend a documentary and short film festival in Bhubaneswar, organised recently by his long time friend, painter Jatin Das. Under the banner of the Jatin Das Centre for the Arts (JDCA), this documentary film festival has become a path-breaking event.

Says Palekar, “Unfortunately, films have completely overshadowed documentaries. Organising such a festival is a bold effort. It will bring together like-minded people and benefit the audience in the long run.”

Palekar has always worked at his own pace. He has just finished a theatre festival in Pune that he has been organising for the past five years.

“I do it without the help and support of the Government, which is difficult. It has become like an annual pilgrimage for the people of Pune. It actually started as homage to stalwarts in the world of theatre. The first one was dedicated to Badal Sircar, the second to Vijay Tendulkar and the third to Ratan Thiyam. The fourth one was dedicated to the sangeet-natak tradition of Maharashtra. Many veterans turned up. It was beautiful to see that the youngest in the crowd was 70 years old and the oldest, 97!”

Palekar doesn’t make it unpalatable like so many other theatre festivals are.

He not only traces the journey of the playwright he dedicates the festival to, but also contemporises their old or the latest play to attract the audience.

“It is usually a retrospective show with a focus on the progression of the playwright and his plays.”

Not that Palekar could ever disassociate himself from films. He is making a film on Jatin Das, his senior from his art college days, and he has just finished a film called Dum Kata.

“It is a children’s film but is meant for the whole family. Its story, dialogue and screenplay are penned by Sandhya (his wife) and it is directed by me. It has scintillating music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and the songs are penned by Gulzar. The film will be released some time in the middle of this year,” says Palekar.

If his admirers miss him on screen, they will do so in the future too, for he doesn’t feel the urge to act again. “I have said many times that I became an actor by accident. Yes, I am a good actor, but a reluctant one. I left acting 17 years ago and I don’t miss it at all. I have diversified into other related fields and am enjoying it thoroughly,” says Palekar unassumingly.

But that doesn’t mean he has stopped watching films. He has been following the field closely. “I loved Johny Gaddar and Laga Chunari Mein Daag. I don’t care for what critics write about the film. What do they write anyway? They write the film’s story and the last paragraph says this or that actor is good or bad. Is it a review,” he asks.

Palekar finds today’s films technically superior but adds, “In some hi-tech films, the story is often missing. Maybe, all this technical razzle-dazzle is to make up for the lack of story.”

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