Media365
Actor and producer Amol Palekar is well known for his work in Marathi and Hindi cinema. He has done a lot of theatre shows and some of his famous work include Rajnigandha, Chhoti Si Baat and Golmaal. During an event, Amol recalled his legal war with filmmaker BR Chopra.
During the Jaipur Literature Festival, Amol Palekar recalled how he had issued a legal notice against the legendary filmmaker BR Chopra for not paying him ₹40,000 for 1981 film Agni Pareeksha. He said, “Honestly, it wasn’t the the money that I was asking for, but it was more about the respect that I felt was being denied to me. Asking for a lab letter was a norm. I was not asking for anything out of the box. It was a given industry norm that if the money was not paid, then a lab letter was issued.”
“I told Chopra sahab that I had not stopped any of the processes, I had even completed the dubbing, so I am not asking for anything out of the blue. But he took it as an insult. He said, ‘How dare you ask for a lab letter?’. But I told him that it was a norm, so why not. He then said, ‘I’ll throw you out of the industry. I told him in my own firm way, ‘Chopra sahab, the film industry does not happen to be the backyard of your bungalow. I am here on my own terms. I do not belong to any clan or film family, and yet I am here”.
For the unversed, Agni Pareeksha was helmed by Kamal Majumdar. The film starred Talluri Rameswari, Utpal Dutt and Parikshit Sahni and Sreeram Lagoo and Iftekhar among others.
Amol Palekar is better known as a stage and film actor. He made his debut in films with 1971 with Marathi film Shantata! Court Chale Aahe. His other notable works as actor include Chehre Pe Chehra, Mr X, Jhoothi, Teesra Kaun?, Samaantar, and Gulmohar among others.
He has also directed films including Aakreit, Ankahee, Daayraa, Paheli, Quest and Kairee among others. Apart from directing and acting in films, Amol Palekar has also been part of web series and TV serials.
