Amol Palekar has stayed away from acting for over a decade now. Back with a new role, the actor and director speaks to eye on facing the camera again, his long association with Marathi cinema and the journey so far

What made you face the camera after a decade?
When Sandhya, my wife, was writing the script of Samaantar and conceptualising the characters, my immediate reaction was, “Here is a role I’d like to play and no one else should do it”. She was surprised and after completing the script asked me again if I was sure—and of course I was! So it just happened. And it’s been more than 10 years actually. Because a decade ago, I did just a one-minute appearance in Aks. The last movie I worked in as a full-fledged actor was Khamosh, which was in 1986 and that’s 22 years ago.

Before this role came along, had you decided not to act after turning director?
This constant reference to a comeback is actually amusing because all these years, I have been saying that if a role really challenges me and can give me butterflies in my stomach all over again, I’d do it. I never said I would never act. But I never really missed acting all this while either.

What’s so special about this role?
It’s a very fascinating character, something I haven’t done before—therefore, the butterflies in the stomach. At the same time, I feel I will do a good job of it.

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