On Amol Palekar’s 77th Birthday, Let’s Celebrate The ‘Not-So-Hero-Like’ Actor & His Films

Bhubaneswar: The moment which is coming, is about to pass! It was the philosophy that the ‘not-so-hero-like’ actor from Bollywood taught us in the 70s with his ‘ane wala pal’ chartbuster. At a time when Bollywood’s angry young man was pulling crowds to the theatres with his larger-than-life stunts and dialogues, the common man’s replica on-screen—Amol Palekar—was silently creeping into millions of hearts playing most relatable characters from the middle-class and still advocating modern thoughts like ‘live life as there’s no tomorrow.’ On his 77^th birthday, here’s a list of his most famous movies:

Gol Maal

Released in 1979, this Hrishikesh Mukherjee film was an all-time classic comedy with the double dose of two brilliant actors—Amol Palekar and Utpal Dutt. Amol played double roles as Ramprasad Sharma and Laxmanprasad Sharma to save his job. Audiences still get mesmerised by the unparalleled tracks of RD Burman. Songs like ‘Ane wala pal’ and ‘Sab golmaal hai’ made a mark in the music industry. The film was written by Rahi Masoom Raza and Sachin Bhowmick. Such was its popularity that the film was remade in several other languages like Tamil (Thillu Mullu), Kannada (Aasegobba Meesegobba), Malayalam (Simhavalan Menon) and Sinhala (Rasa Rahasak). The film has even inspired flicks years later like Bol Bachchan (2012) and Masala (Telugu), released in 2013.

Chhoti Si Baat

This romantic comedy by Basu Chatterjee gave us one of the most soothing tracks by Lata Mangeskar in the 70s: ‘Na jane kyun hota ha yeh zindagi ke sath.’ Amol Palekar played the character of a shy young man named ‘Arun Pradeep.’ Released in 1976, the film deals with the theme of ‘hypercongestion’ in Mumbai. It is believed that the movie was loosely inspired by the British movie ‘School for Scoundrels.’ Interestingly, the film features small cameos by Dharmendra, Hema Malini and Amitabh Bachchan, who plays himself.

Rajnigandha

Released in 1974, Rajnigandha was the first Hindi film of Amol Palekar along with actor Vidya Sinha. It is based on Mannu Bhandari’s short story ‘Yahi Sach Hai.’ It won the Best Picture, Popular Award and Critics Award at the Filmfare Awards in 1975. It was also remade in Bengali as Hothat Sedin.

Chitchor

Made under the banner of Rajshri production, the film was known for its songs. One of the hits included ‘gori tera gaon bada pyara’, which is still one of the most sung songs at any ‘Antakshari’ competitions in Indian households. Produced by Tarachand Barjatya, it was based on a Bengali story ‘Chittachakor’ by Sudha Gosh. The on-screen romance between Zarina Wahab and Amol won the hearts of audiences.

Gharonda

Produced in 1977, Gharonda was directed by Bhimsain. The film is best known for its song ‘Ek akela is shehar main.’ Besides its tune, the song became popular for a shot of Mumbai’s Marine Drive, dotted with Premier Padmini and Ambassador cars. The film was released in a year in which other blockbusters were also out like “Amar Akbar Anthony”, “Parvarish”, “Hum Kisise Kum Nahin”, among others. Starring opposite Zarina Wahab, Amol Palekar plays the role of a middle-class man named ‘Sudip.’

Baton Baton Mein

Released in 1979, the film was directed by Basu Chatterjee. It was a romantic comedy. He plays the character of Tony Braganza, who is commitment-phobic. He was cast opposite Tina Munim (now Ambani). The film had a popular song ‘Na bole Tum Na.’ It is believed to be inspired by the American Civil War song ‘When Johnny Comes Marching Home.’