7 Amol Palekar Films That Are a Delight to Watch Even Today

The best Amol Palekar films to watch are Rajnigandha (1974), Chhoti Si Baat (1976), Chitchor (1976), Gol Maal (1979), Baaton Baaton Mein (1979), Naram Garam (1981) and Rang Birangi (1983). Most were directed by Basu Chatterjee or Hrishikesh Mukherjee, and all show Palekar as the shy, honest middle-class hero of 1970s Hindi cinema.

In an era of angry young men and big action films, Amol Palekar became a star by playing ordinary people: clerks, accountants and nervous lovers. His films were made on small budgets, set in real homes and offices, and built on gentle humour. Many of them still feel fresher than the big hits of the same years.

Who is Amol Palekar?

Palekar trained in fine arts at Sir J.J. School of Art in Mumbai and began in Marathi experimental theatre with Satyadev Dubey. He started his own theatre group, Aniket, in 1972. His first film was the Marathi film Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe in 1971, directed by Dubey.

He later moved into direction, making films such as Kairee, Quest and Paheli (2005), which was India’s official Oscar submission. He has won three Filmfare Awards, including Best Actor for Gol Maal.

7 Amol Palekar films: quick list

7 Amol Palekar films that are a delight to watch

1. Rajnigandha (1974)

Basu Chatterjee’s film is based on Mannu Bhandari’s short story “Yehi Sach Hai”, which is written as a diary. Deepa (Vidya Sinha), a student in Delhi, is engaged to Sanjay (Palekar). When she goes to Mumbai for a job interview, she meets her old boyfriend Naveen (Dinesh Thakur) and is torn between the two men.

The film was a low-budget success and won Best Film and the Critics Award for Best Movie at the 1975 Filmfare Awards. It is honest about middle-class love in a way few Hindi films were at the time.

2. Chhoti Si Baat (1976)

Palekar plays Arun, a timid accounts supervisor who is too shy to talk to Prabha (Vidya Sinha), the girl he likes. A smooth rival, Nagesh (Asrani), keeps beating him to it. So Arun goes to Khandala to learn confidence from the eccentric Colonel Singh, played by Ashok Kumar.

The film is based on the 1960 British film School for Scoundrels, and Basu Chatterjee won the Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay. Watch out for cameos by Dharmendra, Hema Malini and Amitabh Bachchan. It is one of the best Hindi comedies of the 1970s.

3. Chitchor (1976)

Made by Rajshri Productions and directed by Basu Chatterjee, Chitchor is a gentle musical romance set in a village. Geeta (Zarina Wahab), a headmaster’s daughter, falls for Vinod (Palekar), who her family mistakes for the engineer they hoped she would marry.

Ravindra Jain’s songs, including “Gori Tera Gaon Bada Pyara” and “Jab Deep Jale Aana”, are still loved. K.J. Yesudas won the National Award for Best Male Playback Singer. The story inspired several later films, including Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon (2003), and Pardes (1997) is loosely based on it.

4. Gol Maal (1979)

Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Gol Maal is the film most people link with Amol Palekar. Ramprasad, a young chartered accountant, lies to his strict boss Bhawani Shankar (Utpal Dutt) and then has to invent a clean-shaven twin brother, “Lucky”, to cover up the lie. Each lie leads to a bigger one.

Palekar won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor, Utpal Dutt won Best Comedian, and Gulzar won Best Lyricist for “Aane Wala Pal”. The film was remade in Tamil as Thillu Mullu (1981), and Bol Bachchan (2012) was inspired by it.

5. Baaton Baaton Mein (1979)

This Basu Chatterjee romantic comedy follows Tony Braganza (Palekar) and Nancy Pereira (Tina Munim), who meet on a train. Nancy’s mother wants a rich son-in-law, and Tony’s hesitation leads to a break-up before he realises he cannot live without her.

Rajesh Roshan’s music adds to the charm, and the film is a lovely snapshot of everyday city life in the late 1970s. Asrani and Leela Mishra round out a warm supporting cast.

6. Naram Garam (1981)

In this Hrishikesh Mukherjee comedy, Kusum (Swaroop Sampat) and her father (A.K. Hangal) lose their home over debts. Ram Prasad (Palekar), who loves Kusum, lets them stay in a house he is restoring for his boss, Bhawani Shankar (Utpal Dutt). A string of suitors and misunderstandings follows.

R.D. Burman composed the music, Shatrughan Sinha has a key role, and Utpal Dutt won the Filmfare Award for Best Comic Role.

7. Rang Birangi (1983)

Based on a story by Kamleshwar, this Hrishikesh Mukherjee comedy has Palekar as Ajay, a workaholic businessman who neglects his wife Nirmala (Parveen Babi). His friend Ravi (Deven Verma) sets up a plan to save the marriage, which pulls in Ajay’s secretary Anita (Deepti Naval) and her boyfriend Jeet (Farooque Shaikh). Utpal Dutt plays a police inspector.

What is Amol Palekar doing now?

Palekar largely stopped acting after 1986 to focus on direction, but he has returned in recent years. He acted in 200 Halla Ho (2021), Gulmohar (2023) and the web series Farzi (2023). He also returned to theatre after a gap of about 25 years with Kusur (The Mistake), which he directed and starred in.

At 80, he released his autobiography, written in Marathi as Aiwaz and published in English as Viewfinder. For more on classic stars, see our Bollywood section and celebs.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: Wikipedia: Amol Palekar, Wikipedia: Gol Maal, Wikipedia: Chitchor.