Best remembered for his memorable acts in Gol Maal, Naram Garam, Rajnigandha and Chitchor, actor Amol Palekar is also a celebrated artist. His 70th birthday marked a special evening for the who’s who of Mumbai’s social circuit, as they attended the preview of his art exhibition.
The art works were much appreciated by all the guests, who attended the do. Accompanied by his wife Sandhya Gokhale and daughter Samiha, Amol Palekar greeted the guests warmly and spent quality time with them. Gallerist Tarana Khubchandani played the perfect host. Among the attendees were – Kiran Shantaram, Sunil Padwal, Arzan Khambatta, Jaya Lamba, Avantika, Samir Mondal, Riyoko De, Vipta Kapadia, Nitin Dadrawala, Jenny Bhatt, Additional Commissioner IT Dr Naval Kapoor, his wife Sapna Kapoor and Ramesh Bhatkar.
Also, here’s a note by the actor-painter.
“Now that I often retrospect, I feel Camus’ words etch out through my 45 years’ career: ‘I rebel, therefore I exist’. I started as a painter, perhaps will end as one! A circle may emerge as a visual, though the path was never defined & linear. I lived through many forms – visible & invisible! The tangible success was fulfilling, but the pauses & blanks spanned through were equally intriguing.
Having graduated from JJ School of Art in 1965, I had my first solo exhibition in 1967 at the Taj Art Gallery. I continued to paint till 1982 during which I had 7 one-man shows. I always painted abstracts in oil. Then I was also active in the three dimensional space of theatre which offered the painter in me more elements for exploration such as audio, depth and live human presence. The world of cinema engaged me for next 30 years.
As an actor, I acted in about 50 films in 5 languages. As a Director, I directed 6 films in Hindi, 8 in Marathi and 2 in English. I continued to do obdurately what I felt like doing from within… without any compromises! But the vulgar market forces escalating with the changing times have alienated the performer in me – and again, I have found consolation in the blank canvas which triggers an introspective journey in search of those images hidden in my mind. My finished canvas with all its perceptible and untraceable possibilities will offer a confession!
With my new beginning, I’m compelled to find myself again, and to lose myself anew!”
Cheers to Amol and his artsy endeavours!