Amol Palekar - The ‘common man actor’ who redefines the image of Hindi Cinema Hero

Abstract

The Hindi Cinema industry commonly termed as Bollywood in 1970s was a combination of mainstream movies featuring ‘superstars’ and the growing popularity of the ‘angry young man’. But in the race to represent the woes and frustrations of Indian Populace, popular cinema inherit tendency to use escapism. The protagonists were shown to reach from complexity to limelight, right all the wrongs by the virtue of ‘heroism’. This resulted in a ‘reel’ depiction of real public, which was based on aspirations rather than reality. This gap was bridged in the 1970s, with the portrayal of the ‘common man’. In the era of 1970s where most of the actors were seen portraying larger than life characters, Amol Palekar choses to portray character of a common man. Amol Palekar not only portrayed character of a common man with conviction but also lived the character with utter simplicity which creates a special place in the hearts of the audience.