E-Paper
The power of Om
Om Puri is an actor who stands well apart from the crowd. For he is in a zone of his own, writes Saibal Chatterjee.
Om Puri isn't the sort of movie star who is mobbed by frenzied fans. But no matter where in the world he goes, he is an actor who stands well apart from the crowd. For he is in a zone of his own.
Om Puri's name can open doors where none exist, as Piyush Jha, the director of Om Puri's newest film, King of Bollywood, discovered recently to his own pleasant surprise. He saw for himself the power that the unassuming 54-year-old Ambala-born actor wields in the United Kingdom.
Scouting for a suitable location in London, Jha homed in on one particular house that seemed perfect for his film. But the location manager was curt with the unit. He all but slammed the door on Jha's face. And then, a miracle happened. When the director revealed that his lead actor was Om Puri, it worked wonders.
The hitherto unhelpful gentleman was now cooperation personified. He happened to be a great Om Puri fan and was only too willing to throw his home open to any project toplined by the Indian star-actor. "He was now a transformed man and told us that we were free to use his bungalow as we wished. Our stocks shot up in a jiffy in his eyes," recalls a somewhat bemused Jha.
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| Om Puri: Big in Great Britain |
Indeed, few Indian actors have achieved as much sustained international success as Om Puri. Having shared screen space with the likes of Michael Douglas (
The Ghost and the Darkness
), Jack Nicholson (
Wolf
), Sam Neill (
Zookeeper
) and Patrick Swayze (
City of Joy
), among others, he knows no geographical boundaries.
He is especially big in Great Britain, where he is an A-list performer who has bagged several nominations for BAFTA and London Critics Association awards for his widely acclaimed work in films like East is East and My Son the Fanatic.
The latest honour bestowed on Puri by the Queen of England - the Order of the British Empire (OBE) - is a thoroughly deserved recognition for his yeoman contribution to the cause of cinema in Britain. "I was a bit surprised though," says Puri. "I did not know that foreigners were eligible for the OBE. Of course, there are a large number of people in Britain, including Prince Charles, who think that I am a citizen of the United Kingdom."
Puri sees the OBE is a singular honour. "It is obviously a recognition of my work in the British films that I have acted in over the years. But I now feel if they had seen my work in films like Aakrosh, Ardh Satya, Tamas, Susman and Aarohan, they might have even knighted me," he adds with a chuckle. That would not have been undeserved in the least for Puri's role in bolstering the parallel cinema movement in India in the 1970s and `80s was matched only by that of Naseeruddin Shah.
The NSD and FTII graduate was seen in Ghasiram Kotwal, Bhumika and Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan in the 1970s before Govind Nihalani's Aakrosh (1980) catapulted him to the New Indian Cinema big league. In a quarter-century since then, Puri has built a body of work that is stunning as much for its sheer quality as for its unwavering consistency. Range and depth go hand in hand in his oeuvre.
"I have never consciously planned my career," he says. "I have never ever thought of staying in the West in search of work. I believe if there is a role for me it will come to me."
It was roughly around the time that India's parallel cinema went into a slump that the West discovered Om Puri and that was a stroke of luck for an actor looking for fresh challenges. "City of Joy (1992) was a turning point in my career," recalls Puri. "Even though the film failed commercially and critically, my performance did not go unnoticed."
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| Om Puri in Ardh Satya |
Puri continues to be a constant presence in Mumbai cinema. In the past year, he has been seen in N Chandra's
Kagaar
, Ashwini Chaudhary's
Dhoop
, Vishal Bhardwaj's
Maqbool
and Govind Nihalani's
Dev
. None of these films managed a decent run in the cinema halls, but Puri is too good an actor to be affected by the vagaries of the box office.
His delightfully droll star turn as a garrulous secretary in Chachi 420 fetched him a clutch of comic roles in films directed by David Dhawan and Priyadarshan. His comic talent had, of course, been first noticed much earlier - in Kundan Shah's cerebral but zany Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron (1983) and the sitcom Kakkaji Kahin, directed by Basu Chatterjee. In more recent times, Puri provided another fine demonstration of his unmatched comic timing in Nagesh Kukunoor's Bollywood Calling.
King of Bollywood, due for nationwide release on September 24, promises to be another rip-roaring comedy cast in the burlesque mould. But Puri clarifies that Piyush Jha's satire has little in common with Kukunoor's essay beyond the fact that both storylines revolve around the follies and foibles of Bollywood. "The difference lies in the structure of King of Bollywood. It is far more episodic," says Puri.
Even in terms of his own character, he points out, King of Bollywood is in a league apart. "In Bollywood Calling, I played a struggling producer who was unsure of himself. The protagonist of King of Bollywood, Karan Kumar, is a big movie star who is too wrapped up in his notions of grandeur to notice that his sell-by date is long gone," Puri elaborates.
Puri feels the fact that Jha chose to cast him of all people in the role of an over-the-hill Bollywood star is the most intriguing aspect of the film. "I have never fancied myself as a Bollywood star. I do not walk, talk or dance like one. I am required to do just that in this film. It is the irony inherent in the casting that makes the role all the more challenging for me," says Puri.
