Amol Palekar questions, “Why is the audience discussing box office numbers so much?”

Veteran artiste Amol Palekar recently launched his memoir in Mumbai. The book is released in two languages – ‘Aivaj’ in Marathi and ‘Viewfinder’ in English. Apart from his wife and partner Sandhya Gokhale, the event was also graced by veteran actor Nana Patekar and other dignitaries.

Palekar said that he has followed his way of making films and plays while writing the book. “I do not believe in the spontaneity that one talks about, particularly in theatre and cinema,” he said. “Everything has to be rehearsed, rehearsed properly with everybody knowing what is precisely to be done. I come from that discipline. So, even while writing I have followed the same thing. I have thought about what I want to share, all things I would want the younger generations to know, what I would like to share with my contemporaries; those lovely moments that they have given me. I would like to pay my homage to the stalwarts, who gave me immense satisfaction and also helped me learn many things, which I wouldn’t have learned otherwise.”

During the interaction with the audience after the launch, Palekar was asked if he would like to make a comeback as a director in theatre or films. Responding to the same, he said that it’s difficult for him to make a play at this age as he turned 80 yesterday. As far as films are concerned, he expressed his disappointment at what people keep discussing today in the name of cinema.

Palekar said, “People keep discussing if a film entered the Rs. 100 crores club, then Rs. 200, 300, 400, 500 crores and so on. We only keep discussing the business. I can understand if producers discuss this. But why is the audience discussing it (box office numbers) so much? I can hear members of the audience speaking only about this (aspect of films), instead of what was good in a film and how a film was.”

Palekar also pointed out that apart from business, he only hears people discussing gossip about actors’ personal lives. “Who had what relationships, who did what, how did someone get divorced, etc, are the other things we think or speak about cinema these days. I am not at all interested in it. So, whether I would direct a film is a big question mark,” he said.