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Om Puri in British hit 'East is East'
Puri plans to stick around
30/11/2004
By Shelina Begum
AFTER gracing more than 160 films over a 30-year period veteran
actor Om Puri says there is still room for improvement.
He is one of the very few actors in Bollywood who has made it as an
international star with British hits including 'East is East' and
'My Son the Fanatic' but the star told Asian News that despite his
experience he never stops learning.
He said: "With time and films you have to change and as you change
you need to pick up new skills. As an actor I'm always learning and
I'm never embarrassed to ask questions even to younger stars. They
are more aware of what young audiences want to see these days, so
I'm learning from them as well.
"I might have been around a long time but there's still room for
improvement"
Om Puri was recently in Bradford at the Bite the Mango Film
festival where his latest film Bollywood King. was premiered.
The movie satirises the ongoings in big Bollywood productions in
which Om Puri delivers an inspired performance with supermodel
Sophie Dahl.
In the film, Om plays actor Karan Kumar who is having a documentary
taken on his life's work by a British film-maker Crystal (Dahl). At
the age of 52 Karan is a pompous star just not ready to retire and
tries to stage a comeback.
Said Om: "King of Bollywood is a spoof on the Hindi film industry,
but it seems straight out of life. For those who've been associated
with Bollywood and know the ins and outs, it's easy to identify
with the goings-on.
"Those who aren't would still enjoy being a part of this joy ride
for the simple reason because it's genuinely humorous and
amusing."
Om Puri may be a big star today but his climb up the ladder of
success has been a hard one with years of poverty and
unemployment.
Born in Ambala, India into a family of eight brothers and a sister,
Om lived with an uncle in Patiala when his father left the Indian
army and found he could not afford to care for his large
family.
In school he helped tutor other children to help pay his
fees.
Through college he worked a series of jobs as a lab assistant and a
law clerk.
He applied for a scholarship to the National School of Drama; he
got it and for the next three years discovered a whole new world of
acting.
He then moved to The Film and Television Institute in Pune with
classmate Naseeruddin Shah. With no money and no sponsor, it was a
difficult period for him until he got a part in a 1976 film called
Chor Chor Chupja where he played a monkey trainer.
His early 20s were spent teaching at an acting academy and taking
part in art house films.
Om's big break came when director Satyajit Ray asked him to play
the role of an untouchable in a film called Sadgati.
Said Om: "I was absolutely astonished when I got the news that he
wants to put me in his film. I got a message that I should give him
a call. When I called him I was shivering because I was so nervous.
He said he was sending a script and to have a look at it and see if
would like to do i?. I said 'Like to do it? Of course I
would.'
"He was truly a Renaissance man".
Since then, Om Puri has had great roles in Bollywood, Hollywood
(Wolf starring opposite Jack Nicholson) and in Britain.
Looking back at his career Om added: "I feel that I have done
significant work abroad. The best thing about my work abroad is
that nothing that I did was flippant. It is quite tough portraying
a role one does not identify with. I want to take it easy now, I
think it is nice to give myself a break in between but I do plan to
stick for a little longer."
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