You have to demand your freedom

At the recently-concluded Jaipur Literature Festival, TMS attended Amol Palekar's media address on his book Viewfinder: A Memoir and how he wears many hats as a non-conformist

- PRIYAMVADA RANA

When art entrepreneur Sanjoy K. Roy introduced Amol Palekar to the stage of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) on Day 4, he said, "For those who don't know, he celebrated his 80th birthday last year, but he looks 65!" Roy was not just alluding to the actor-director's appearance, but also how he radiated creative vigour. Palekar, an actor by "accident," a director by "choice," and a painter by "nature," discussed his 2024 book, Viewfinder: A Memoir (Westland) that traces six decades of his life. From being a graduate of JJ School of Art, his rise as a 1970s film star who offered an alternative hero to those times' larger-than-life protagonists with hits like Gol Maal, Chitchor, Baaton Baaton Mein and Chhoti Si Baat, to his anti-establishment theatre activism for freedom of expression, and finding moments of peace in painting – the memoir is a candid account of his life and unconventional thinking.