Finding a space for himself in a film industry which was then dominated by Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra and Jitendra may have been difficult, but what made Amol Palekar stand out among the stars was his portrayal of the common man’s vulnerability.
The actor was speaking about his acting days, his memoir ‘Viewfinder’ and being a feminist at heart at ‘Comrades in Arts: Love, Life and Literature’ session, along with his author-wife Sandhya Gokhale at the Odisha Literary Festival-2025.
“Neither was I the angry young man in a film who could beat up 30 people nor a romantic hero like Rajesh Khanna who could woo a heroine with a smile. I was not even a dancer like Jeetendra. But I realised that it was also necessary to show the vulnerability of a man on screen, which no hero ever portrayed. So, I played characters that had flaws and shortcomings. Which is why, it was not just women who fell in love with me but even men loved me for my characters,” said the award-winning actor, who shaped Indian cinema and theatre with his creative vision, reports The New Indian Express.
Speaking to senior journalist Kaveree Bamzai, who moderated the session, the couple spoke about their 24 years of marriage and what makes them click. Sandhya said they both click because of their sensibilities. “I give full credit to him because he is too contemporary, a truly feminist man. Reading, music, and then just so many other facets of life which we share. I think we feel that it’s just like a couple of years that we have been together,” she said.
Amol attributed his feminism to Sandhya. Stating that it was her who made him aware that he was a feminist, he said that when he began to think, he realised that his thoughts were about giving justice to women, which was being denied to them for centuries, The New Indian Express reports. “When I became aware, it started reflecting in my work,” he said.
The couple spoke about ‘Viewpoint’ and the challenges that went into making of the book and recalled a trilogy, Anaahat, Thang and Daayara, which delved on female desire. In fact, ‘Daayara’ was shot entirely across Odisha and it portrayed ‘Gotipua’.
“It was about a man who loved dressing up as a woman and a woman who liked dressing up like a man. I chose the characters from Gotipua when men dressed up as women and danced like them without any vulgarity and with such authenticity. I was fortunate to see the legendary classical dancer Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra who performed the most evocative dance scene without being vulgar,” he said.
Stating that he is still interested to appear on the big screen if different roles are offered to him, Amol said he will soon be appearing on OTT.
