Dibakar Bannerjee’s short movie Star in the episodic movie Bombay Talkies was Sadashiv Amrapurkar’s last appearance in Hindi cinema. The director says he is glad that he got to work with the late actor.
“At that time, Sadashivji was very busy in Marathi theatre and his social activism. But I was adamant. The character was that of a doyen of Marathi theatre. Sadashivji fitted the bill. If I had made the film 20 years ago, I would have thought of Nilu Phuleji. Now it had to be none except Sadhashivji. I convinced him to do the role,” said the director.
Sadashiv died on November 3 following lung infection. He was 64.
“One day, I was sitting with him discussing his character when he began chatting about his experiences in theatre, about how friends who once gave up theatre because it was not lucrative now wanted his help to come back to stage. From that point onwards, he took over the character. All the years of his experience in Marathi theatre and his personal interaction with colleagues who chose to go into other professions were used in the film.
“I’d say Sadashivji played the cynical, but not desperate, veteran actor through his own experiences. He even wrote all the lines himself to suit the character. He gave so much of himself to the role, I was left speechless by his dedication.”
The only distraction was the emu bird, which played a character in the film.
“Every time Sadashivji said his lines, the emu would come and stand next to him. Nawazuddin [Siddiqui] and I would burst out laughing. I am so glad Sadashivji would be remembered by this swansong,” he said.
Filmmaker Govind Nihalani introduced Amrapurkar to Hindi cinema, casting him as Rama Shetty in his film Ardh Satya.
“I am proud to say that my film Ardh Satya introduced Sadashiv Amrapurkar to Hindi cinema. Prior to that, he was enormously active and acclaimed in Marathi theatre. How I signed Sadashiv to play the antagonist Rama Shetty makes an interesting story,” said Nihalani.
Nihalani and writer Vijay Tendulkar were discussing the characters in Ardh Satya and the latter suggested the young actor from Marathi theatre for Rama Shetty’s role.
“I had never seen Sadashiv’s work before. So I went to see his Marathi play, a comedy called Hands Up, in which he was paired opposite the legendary Bhakti Bharve. Now, everyone knows Bhakti to be a fine actress. But Sadashiv, who was relatively new, stood his ground and gave a rousing performance. I noticed his great comic timing.
“It was the best decision I could’ve taken for my film. Sadashiv didn’t play the role. He owned it and he lived every moment of the character. He wasn’t judgemental about Rama Shetty.”
Amrapurkar won two Filmfare awards — in 1984, he won the award for the best supporting actor for Ardh Satya and in 1991, the best villain trophy for playing a ruthless eunuch in Sadak — during his stint in Bollywood.
The actor is also known for his scintillating performances in Mr. India, Aankhen, Ishq, Coolie No. 1 and Gupt: The Hidden Truth among others.
