One of Bollywood’s brightest and eloquent artists: Amol Palekar.

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Amol Palekar, known as the best common man actor with great comedy skills, turns 73 today.

 Born on 24th November 1944 in Bombay, Amol Palekar began his artistic career as a painter and participated in several one-man exhibitions and group shows. He studied Fine Arts at the Sir JJ School of Arts, Mumbai.

 Amol Palekar, as an actor, ruled the silver screen for over a decade from 1970. His charming image as a ‘boy next door’ carved an unparallel niche in contrast to the larger than life heroes prevalent at that time in Indian cinema.

Amol Palekar started his acting career in 1971with the Marathi film Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe directed by Satyadev Dubey. He then appeared in Basu Chatterjee’s film Rajnigandha in 1974 and later in Chhoti Si Baat (1975). As an actor, Palekar was most prominent for over a decade from the 70s.

 Known for his fine works in acting, eventually Palekar opted for direction. He has directed many critically acclaimed films like Akriet, Thodasa Rumani Ho Jaaye, Bangwarwadi, Dayraa, Kairee, Paheli, Quest and popular television shows like Kachchi Dhoop, Naqab and Mrignayani.

 He received three Film Fare and six State awards as Best Actor.

The 27th Filmfare Award winners, Amol Palekar and Jaya Bhaduri.

 Amol Palekar received the best actor trophy for his dual character role in the movie Gol Maal (1979) and Jaya Bhaduri got her last best actress award for the film Nauker (1979).

Deven Varma and Amol Palekar in a still from Gol Maal (1979).

 Gol Maal is Hrishikesh Mukerji's timeless comic gem. It remains Palekar's most iconic performance till date. The movie has brilliant combination of Utpal Dutt and Amol, which make it an all-time classic. In the movie, Amol Palekar played a double role as chalk and cheese as Ramprasad Sharma and Laxmanprasad Sharma to save his job. The chemistry between Palekar and Dutt was blockbuster. Songs like ‘Aane wala Pal jane wala hai’ and ‘Gol maal hai bhai sab gol maal hain’ still mesmerise audience.

With Utpal Dutt in Gol Maal

 In an interview, he revealed the secret of his success. He said that he is no superman, he is just a common man. A common man who travels in trains even after becoming a superstar. A man who brought the groceries himself despite having servants at his disposal. It was a big thing to have such a grounded personality as a superstar.

It was also said that Amol Palekar never quitted his job as a clerk until his movies started becoming a super-hit at the box office. 

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