Amol Palekar talks about reconnecting with his first love, spills the beans about why he shifted from Mumbai to Pune

Veteran actor, filmmaker Amol Palekar is an undeniable influence in pop culture and everyday conversations in our lives. He is often the embodiment of the country's many underdogs and average, simple, middle-class gentlemen. Some of his most impactful works as an actor have been films like Chitchor, Chhoti Si Baat, Rajnigandha and Gol Maal. His most celebrated film as a director was Paheli, a project that Shah Rukh Khan had starred in and produced nearly a couple of decades ago.

In a recent conversation with Mid Day's Mayank Shekhar, the veteran spoke of the reasons that convinced him to shift from Mumbai to Pune. The latter felt that Mumbai was no longer the city that he had grew up in. He wasn't in favour the hoardings that have come in the way of public art, most of the places that he had visited frequently, have been shut down - Café Samovar (at Jehangir Art Gallery), to name one. 

Also Read: ZEE5 original film 200 stars Amol Palekar  

Palekar even remembers the fictional dish that Ashok Kumar had came up with - chicken a’ la poos at Café Samovar in his film Chhoti Si Baat. The journalist, during the chat, had met Amol Palekar at his art studio in Pune, in which he spends the most part of the day, while painting on canvas. The Gol Maal actor also informed that he would be ready with his new art collection by the end of 2023. For the unversed, Amol Palekar had studied fine arts at Sir JJ School of Art before he became an actor.

The chat also had him go back in time to discuss how Shyam Benegal had defied all odds to cast him in a grey role in Smita Patil-starrer Bhumika. The film was loosely based on the life of theatre actress Hansa Wadkar, who was once Palekar's neighbour too. Palekar, in the film, was firstly considered for the role of the studio-era hero, an opportunity that finally went to the late Anant Nag. He had also made his OTT debut in 2021 - 200 Halla Ho, that premiered on ZEE5.