Sandesh Gaundalkar, my colleague who did story board for the movie GAO TASA CHANGLA, it was the last movie of Nilu bhau. He was fortunate to work him. That time I told him ,when ever he visit Nilu bhau at Pune even I want to join to meet this great personality.But this didn’t happen . and now he is no more!
Everybody knows how great actor he was ,but I did not knew he was great human who was socially committed. Nilu phule was social activist throughout his life.he had social understanding, Actor with heart of activist when he acted he had complete understanding both sides of fence,negative as well as positive roles. He had committed 2 days of every month to work with Andhshraddha Nirmulan Samiti.
According to theatre critic Shanta Gokhale, Phule always wanted to be known for his work on stage. Phule began his theatrical career with loknatya, a Maharashtrian folk performance form. At the same time, Gokhale recalled, he was an avid observer of plays performed at Dadar's famous Chhabildas school, the crucible of experimental Marathi drama by the group Rangayan, that later became Awishkar. One of his most outstanding performances was as the eponymous hero of Vijay Tendulkar's controversial drama Sakharam Binder that was first staged in 1972.
Accustomed to the burlesque of folk drama, Phule had to work on playing the violent, misogynist in a naturalistic manner. Theatre director Vijaya Mehta said, "Only he could have carried it on his shoulders. In somebody else's hand it would have (simply) been a shocking play.''
It helped that Phule looked the part. With his drooping eyes and heavy mouth, Phule was every bit the arch villain. "A huge advantage was his physiognomy,'' Gokhale said. "His face speaks because of the way it is. He didn't really need to do anything except control his voice. Even in (Sakharam Binder's) most violent speeches.''
His best can be seen in the movies SAMNA, SINHASAN, PINJRA, JAIT RE JAIT, SHAPIT. Phule received the prestigious Sangeet Natak Academi award from the president in 1991. The Maharashtra government had also felicitated him with the best actor award on three occasions. Phule received the Natya Darpan award for his role in the famous play Sooryasta (Sun Set). The Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Natya Parishad felicitated Phule with the Jayantrao Tilak Lifet
Nilu phule got best actor award for Jabbar Patel directed movie SINHASAN at Berlin film festival.
Phule's persona became such a badge that people were often surprised that he wasn't a curmudgeon in real life. Film critic Dilip Thakur said that the negative roles took a toll on his social life. "He even told me that he was not welcome to social gathering and that at one marriage function, he was not served food.''
"He was totally (different from) his image in private life,'' said Rohini Hattangady, who acted with him in Saaransh (1984) and toured Maharashtra raising funds for poor rural folk with him. "He was a very nice
Amol Palekar, actor
It is our ingratitude that we couldn’t realise the potential of an actor like Nilu Phule. In 1970s, when loud acting defined Marathi theatre, Nilu Phule’s controlled acting brought about a welcome change. For young actors, his performances in Sakharam Binder and Katha Aklechya Kandyachi were like lessons in acting. Interestingly, he never came into the spotlight despite deserving it. He used to take cognisance of new experiments in Marathi theatre. He helped downtrodden people wholeheartedly. I think he was a greater human being than an actor.
Dr Shriram Lagoo, actor
If someone has to complie a list of world-class actors, Nilu Phule’s name will definitely feature in it. He had firm opinions about politics too, which was rare to see in an actor. It was, however, unfortunate that he got stereotypical roles in Marathi movies. But it was a drawback of the films, not his. He, however, used to perform his best in all the roles he essayed. I remember that the role of Sakharam had first come to me. I liked the script but I refused the role, as it did not suit me. I suggested Nilu’s name to producer Kamlakar Sarang. Nilubahu agreed to do the role and the rest, as they say, is history.
As an actor, Nilu Phule was great in understanding the nuances of a character. His role in Saamna was a good example of that. He was a great social commentator and had a grasp of political developments in the last five decades. It is rare to find actors with such sensibilities. With the death of Nilu Phule, an era has come to an end.
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