If excellent acting skills and exceptional voice quality had been the criteria for success in Bollywood, Om Puri would have been rubbing shoulders with superstars Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan. But alas! Bollywood has its own mantras for success — mantras that people like Om Puri could never chant. Even if they tried, if only for the sake of experimenting, they fell flat, tarnishing an image built on personal dignity and quality of performance.
But Om Puri has learnt his lessons well. Today, unlike earlier days, when he was less accessible to the media, he mingles with the press. He doesn’t overreact to hackneyed questions, doesn’t mind repeated requests for ‘exclusive’ sound bytes and even admits that he moves around “in the right circles”. Take it as his new approach to himself. The year 2009 lists nine films to his credit — the latest two being “Wanted” and “Baabarr”. Earlier this year came “Dilli 6”, “Billu” and “Chal Chala Chal”, and “Kurbaan”, “Kushti” and “Carry on Pandu” are ready for release.
London Dreams
Meanwhile, “London Dreams” is set to hit theatres soon. “It is actually based on Mozart and Salieri, and their rivalry. I play Ajay Devgan’s (Arjun) uncle who is metaphorically playing Salieri,” says Puri, who plays a character whose dead brother was a musician. For emotional reasons, he will not let the deceased brother’s son (Ajay Devgan) devote himself to music. “But Ajay runs away from me, does odd jobs and continues his passion for music. He meets Mannu (or Mozart) (played by Salman Khan), and they become best of friends,” he continues. The nephew, whose character is based on Salieri, becomes a big musician, but Mannu is a better musician and he is jealous. “Here I act as a bridge between the two,” explains Puri. Playing small roles like the above, is he happy? He admits he isn’t. “Even if I am not, who cares? I am not a star.” The annoyance shows. But he has had plum roles in the past. “That was when important directors needed ‘actors’ and not ‘stars’ for their films — ‘Tamas’, ‘Aakrosh’, ‘Aaghat’, ‘Maachis’, and serials like ‘Kakkaji Kahin’ and ‘Discovery’ — were a class apart. I don’t want to reel back to the past, but that’s the fact. Now we have only a few good directors we can count on the fingers: Aashutosh Gowarikar, Madhur Bhandarkar, Vishal Bhardwaj, Prakash Jha…But do all of them have roles for me? We make 800 films a year, and only 20 of them are hits. It’s a shame for us as we are the biggest filmmaking fraternity. Since the producers are making money, who is bothered about the quality?”
Frustration led Puri to explore Punjabi as well as English films in the mid-’90s. Now he is internationally known, having done British films like “My Son the Fanatic”, “East is East”, “The Parole Officer”, etc. His notable Hollywood films include “City of Joy”, “Wolf “The Ghost and the Darkness” and “The Hangman.” One of his most seen roles was in “Charlie Wilson’s War” in 2007 (starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts), in which he played General Zia-Ul-Haq. “Hollywood films don’t waste actors like me. Even a 70-year-old can play a hero. They take old age seriously,” Puri says with some disgust.
But Hindi films too have regarded age. “Yes, I appreciate films like ‘A Wednesday’, ‘Dhoop’ and ‘Saaransh’. But how many such films are made today? We should learn from our past. Our filmmakers like V. Shantaram and Mehboob depended on literature to make their films. Why can’t we go back to literature? They have stories, social message. We can support them with poetry the likes of Faiz and Faraz wrote!” Money is another factor Puri isn’t happy about. “I have done over 200 films, but have not made 200 crores, but barely 32 crores.”
Didn’t he ever feel like raising a voice? “I don’t mind raising a voice, but tell me who will listen to me? I am not a star. I am not Shah Rukh Khan…” and he slips into laughter adding, “Pehle hum Amitabh Bachchan kehte the, ab Shah Rukh Khan kehte hain. I have already raised my voice a few times, aur uske baad chup baith gaya.” He sounds low, his voice barely accompanying him.
Does he have a meaty role on hand? “I have Percept’s ‘Carry on Pandu’, a satire on the police, which was boxed for a year and ‘Kushti’. In ‘Kushti’ I am playing an ex-wrestler who trains also. My disciple combats on my behalf and comes to my rescue.” Puri gets up humming a Jagjit Singh ghazal. He has recently appeared with him in a cough syrup ad. Would he be willing to do more? “Why not, I can sell soap, oil, but not a cigarette,” he laughs. What about reality shows?
“If they are ready to pay me as much as they pay Salman Khan, only then!”
