INTERVIEW WITH OM PURI - II

Who : Om Puri
About : Legendary Indian Actor, Acted in many Hollywood movies as well
Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Om_Puri

How it happened : Interview with Om Puri
Interview Date: August,2001
Place: Om Puri's home, Mumbai
Pic: Below, taken at Mr. Puri's home

Nikhil Taneja (NT) : You were interested in joining the army in your hey-days. How did Bollywood happen ?
Om Puri (OP) : It’s been a pretty long journey. When I wanted to join the army, I was in school actually. And when I went to college, I got drifted. In college activities, dramatic activities, etc, my interest in drama grew. So I joined a drama school – National School of Drama in Delhi, for 3 years, after I finished my graduation. And then, I went to Pune Institute for 2 more years, for film acting course. So, eventually it was 5 years before I came down to Bollywood, which was in ’76. And I have been here since then.

NT : You were, from the very beginning, an art cinema loyalist. Did you deliberately not do commercial films ? If yes, then why ?
OP : Well, initially, yes, because, one, I was not being offered any interesting roles, and I had very ordinary looks, and commercial cinema tends to look for, you know, very very pretty faces, very very chiselled faces. And I didn’t want to do any tiny bits and parts and anything like that. That’s why I went through art cinema. That’s my first love. I still would love to do art films, because I feel that cinema is not just an entertainment. It’s also has a role to play in society.

NT : How were you introduced to Hollywood ?
OP : Hollywood happened off and on. My first acquaintance was with a British Television serial, which was in ’81, called ‘Jewel in the Crown’. Jennifer Kapoor (Shashi Kapoor’s wife) had mentioned my name and I got a small part in three episodes. That was my first, sort of, venture, outside the country. Then I did one or two small films – art films, from Canada. The first one was Sam and Me – that was Deepa Mehta’s first film – then in ’90, City of Joy, which was made in Calcutta and England. They gave me a central part. So that was, actually, the beginning. So, from ’90, off and on, I have been doing practically one film an year. Except that last year I did 4 films, after the success of ‘East is East’. I did four films in one year, last year.

NT : How was it like, working with Jack Nicholson ?
OP : It was wonderful ! He was very nice, professional. It was not a very long part. I shot with them only for two days. And the scene was only with him – in that scene, only the two of us were there. And he was very gentle, he was very nice – we chatted, we shared cups of coffee, and things like that. Very pleasant.

NT : According to you, in what way does Bollywood differ from Hollywood ?
OP : Well, I don’t know about the entire Hollywood. I mean, I know more about Bollywood. The films, which I did, which are about 12 or 13 films abroad – I can only talk on the basis of that experience. And my experience has been wonderful with those films. Most of them were art films, I mean the western art film, except maybe, Ghost in the Darkness, Wolf, and The City of Joy. East is East was an art film. My Son the fanatic, again, was a British film, and was a small budget film. So these three big American films were, you can call them, commercial films – but they were also not hardcore commercial films. They were kind of a medium – middle road cinema, what we call them in India. And the major difference is that all of them in the west, once they go on location and start the film, they finish the film – start to finish. In commercial cinema in India, they shoot in fragments – they don’t shoot at a stretch. Dus din shooting kiya, then you don’t shoot for that film for three months. Then you shoot for 10 days and do not shoot for two months. It’s like that. And it takes a year, a year and a half or sometimes two years for the film to complete, whereas in the west, when they start filming, within one year, they complete the entire process of the film. I mean, including rights and sounds and things like that. They also don’t do dubbing. Everything is dubbed here – in Indian films. Then of course, professionalism. There is much more professionalism in the west; much more respect for time, you know. Here in India, stars come late for shootings - all that kind of indiscipline. Then, there is cancellation - what we call patchwork. You’ve shot the entire film and then people go in for patch work, which means that they missed out on certain things and then they go back and shoot again, which in the west, is unheard of. They have the complete script, already, before they start filming.

NT : You have worked with the likes of Satyajit Ray. How would you describe his way of direction ?
OP : (In a matter-of-fact tone) We all know that he was a world famous director, and he will always be remembered for his work. He was very methodical. He was truly a renaissance man, and he was one filmmaker in India who knew everything about filmmaking. He could write his own scripts, he could write his own dialogues, he could do his own music, he could design his own posters and he could edit himself. I mean, he could do everything connected to films himself. He was truly a renaissance man.

NT : How comfortable are you, when you are shooting for a foreign movie, with different people, a different style and different methods ?
OP : I am absolutely comfortable. I have a huge experience behind. I have been in films for the last 25 years. And besides that, I was in training for 5 years earlier than that. So, obviously, when you go to a new place, it takes you a couple of days to, sort of, acclimatise yourself, and work with new people. And what is nice about western people is that they have one week for this purpose, for meeting each other, doing a few workshops, doing some improvisations, talking about your part, talking about the film, talking about various things, you know, having meals together, sitting down and chit-chatting. So all that helps you to befriend your colleagues and the cast. So that helps a great deal.

NT : Tell us something about one of your awaited movies, Bollywood Calling.
OP : Bollywood Calling is a film in English, which is Indian. It’s an Indian-English film, which was shot partly in New Jersey and the rest of it, which is almost 85 %, was shot in a studio in Hyderabad. And it’s a very funny film, and absolutely entertaining. But at the same time, it is sensible entertainment. It has a lot of nice humour. And it’s about the film industry – how the Indian film industry functions. It’s a kind of a satire.

NT : You were nominated for the Best Actor Award, for East is East, at the BAFTA. Did you have any expectations ?
OP : No… I mean, I wasn’t surprised that I was nominated, but I wasn’t surprised either, that I didn’t get it, because, all said and done, the actor who got it, Kevin Spacey, had a much tougher role, he had a much bigger part. So obviously he deserved it better. But I was happy with the nomination itself.

NT : Why have you suddenly started doing hardcore commercial films ?
OP : (Straight forwardly) That’s for money. Because, I have been a part of the art cinema for almost 15 years, and I couldn’t have survived, I couldn’t have looked after myself if I was only doing art films, because there is hardly any money in it. Art cinema has given me a lot – it has given me a status, it has given me respectability, and it has opened many doors for me – nationally and internationally, because a lot of my art films have been shown in film festivals all over the world. I have travelled all over the world on the basis of those art films. Commercial cinema, perhaps, couldn’t have given me that opportunity. So I am grateful to both cinemas. All my materials, facilities, which I have today, are thanks to commercial cinema. I am not filthy rich, but I am not, by no means, poor. I maintain my standard of living as a person of upper middle class. I can afford to go higher, but I don’t, because I want to sustain it longer, and I don’t want to, sort of, keep working for money. Like some people think that ‘I have a Ford car and by next year, I want a Mercedes.’ So I don’t work like that. If in the process, I get more money – my price goes high, or, say, I get an American film, in which I have a nice big part and I get pots of money, then I would. But I will not, sort of, start thinking about and start dreaming about money. I am happy, I am comfortable, and my material ambitions are not very very high - at least they are not averted.

NT : What do you look for, in a movie, especially if it a Bollywood movie, before signing it ?
OP : Well I try, for one, not to get type cast. It is difficult in this industry, you know, as most of us get type cast. But I have done all kinds of parts – I have done comedies, I have done some villainous roles and I always, sort of, manage to do some interesting characters. Sometimes they are even small, like Hera Pheri, in which I had a small part. But I was happy with it. Chachi 420 was not a big or huge part, but you know, people appreciated it. So that gives me a sense of versatility. And I feel happy that, instead of playing a cop in every second film, I manage to do roles, which are different. That was one thing. And second thing is the overall movie. How is the director, how is the script, sometimes there is a small part in a big film and better money, sometimes it’s a small film, less money, but a much bigger part. The purpose of doing commercial cinema is, frankly, for money. So that is also a major criteria – that how much money will I be getting.

NT : Do you think that your serious actor image suffers, when you do commercial movies?
OP : You see, as long as you are doing decent parts in commercial cinema, as long as you are not overdoing commercial cinema, your image is very much the same. So far I have protected myself, I mean, people still respect me, and they know my work. Occasionally, you always make some mistakes here and there, which I also have made. But then you learn from those mistakes and you try and not to repeat those mistakes. So as long as you are doing certain decent films, and occasionally, say two films a year or something, if you are able to do interesting parts and different parts, like in art films. Like Bollywood Calling is a commercial film. But it is a kind of a semi commercial and semi art film, you can say. So if you get, you know, if you get two or three films a year, like that, then you are able to safeguard your image. But if you are just doing pure hardcore commercial and anything and everything, then obviously, there will be a setback and people will be disappointed.

NT : In your 25 years of movie career, which film would you say has made you proud ?
OP : Oh! There are lots of them! I would say, Ardh Satya, Aakrosh, Susman, Tamas, Discovery of India, Drohkaal, Aghaat, Satgati, Target(That was by Satyajit Ray’s sun), and some commercial films, like Gupt. But basically, the films which I mentioned, are quite a body of work and I do feel proud of them. And some of the international projects, like Brothers in Trouble, My Son The Fanatic, East is East, City of Joy and the four films which I did last year, have all done me proud in a way.

NT : You have worked with almost every great Bollywood personality. Do you still have an unfulfilled dream of working with someone special ?
OP : No, I don’t have a dream of working with someone. I do wish that, you know, you get good parts, because see cinema is very limited. They are just making love stories all the time. So in my age group, what have we to do in love stories, except to play the girl’s father or boy’s father. Sometimes he may be a good father, sometimes he is be a strict father. So, you know, there are no variations. There are no challenges, unlike in the west, where you have all kinds of characters. And unfortunately, earlier, we were just making action films for 15 years, when Mr. Bachchan was in the spotlight, and that time it was action films all the way – everybody was making an action film. And now it’s been love stories for the last 10 years. So unless it changes, there is no hope for us, ‘for us’ meaning character actors, like Paresh Rawal, Nasser(Naseeruddin Shah), me. Ocassionally, you get a decent part. Otherwise the current scenario is very depressing for us.

NT : Tell us about upcoming movies.
OP : There are plenty of upcoming movies. There are 3 movies, which I did with Mahesh Manjrekar – one is Pitah, one is Tere Pyaar Ki Kasam, and I don’t remember the name of the third one. And I am doing a film with David (Dhawan) again. It is going on the floors next month. Then, I am doing a film with Rahul Rawail. I have a nice part in both of these. And then, Raj Babbar is producing a film – he is introducing his daughter. The film has a good script, and I have a good part in that. I am doing about 14-15 films altogether now. As for Hollywood films, as I told you, I have done 4 films. They will start releasing now. The first release is going to be in September – a movie called Parole Officer. And in the next 6-8 months, I think all those 4 will be released. At the moment, I am not doing anything in the west, but you cannot be sure when a project comes my way. I have been doing practically one project every year. So I am sure, soon something will happen again!