Puri chat

Om Puri completes 34-years in the acting business. He speaks to CS about the Road to Sangam, his latest release, and the road to Bollywood:

Crowd puller
While shooting for Road to Sangam, there was a scene where a procession is going to immerse Gandhiji's ashes. We were in Allahabad with little security around us and a lot of crowd turned up to watch us. While viewing the film, I was amazed to see the size of the procession, which has mostly made up of onlookers. We did not panic. The junta was also co-operative.


WHO: Actor Om Puri
WHAT: Talking about his career moves
WHERE: At his Versova residence

Character crazeu00a0u00a0u00a0
I'm drawn to good characters; it's like reading a good book. When you enact a role, it is about a character, the situations around him, and his philosophy. I remember when I was playing Ravana in Bharat, Ek Khoj, there was a scene where Ram sends Lakshman to Ravana to take some administrative advice. According to Ram, Ravana was evil, butu00a0 a great administrator. Ravana said to Ram, "If you have good on your mind, do it before you change your mind; but when you think of something evil, wait, think and then act." I've always tried to use that funda in my life.

Hollywood by chance
I never made a deliberate attempt to enter Hollywood. The first role was in a tele-series called a Jewel In A Crown, followed by the film, Gandhi. I also earned critical acclaim for City Of Joy, which marked my entry into British cinema.
Actually we are still not an important part of mainstream Hollywood yet. There is very little scope for Asians to act in their films. We are considered only once in a while when there is a role requirement for an Asian.

Changing roomu00a0
When I came into the industry in 1976, there was a trend of stars reaching late on the sets or sometimes not turning up at all. The writer would come narrate your part and go away. There was no provision for a script until the day you actually shot the scene. Technically, films are made much better today than in the yesteryears.

I would love to see our films going to the Oscars. However Indian filmmakers only make films that cater to Indian audiences and also sometimes also lack quality. Though we won Oscar for Slumdog, we can't claim it as ours. However, directors People have to now think global and make films like Swades, Taare Zameen Par etc. A change in mindset would do us good.