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'I wish to do all roles Big B has done'
Says Om Puri as he talks to KT about his attempt at singing and why he has no wish to return to television.
We all know Om Puri as an actor par excellence. Though one may consider his talent to be God-gifted, he maintains it's an outcome of his long association with rangmanch. The actor with rare versatility has been in Bollywood for the past 30 years (and he takes pride in it). But these days he's working at a leisurely pace and is taking up one project at a time.
"I've just finished Kamal Sadanah's Victoria No. 203," informs Puri, who has of late been seen in comic capers. But if you thought the actor has suddenly got more inclined towards comedy, you can't be more wrong as he says that it's because of a lack of choice.
"I'm simply doing what I'm being offered. An actor's horizon shouldn't be limited. I can't pick and choose roles from the few that I'm being offered," he confesses candidly, and adds, "I'm not averse to comedy provided it makes sense."
Though 57-year-old Puri has proved his mettle in different genres of films, he still yearns to do some specific roles. "I still wish to do all the roles that Mr (Amitabh) Bachchan has done so far," he says.
Puri takes pride in the phenomenal changes that Bollywood is going through but rues the lack of good subjects. "The strong subjects taken up in 1960s' films like Teesri Kasam, Guide, Do Beegha Zameen, etc. are missing nowadays. Otherwise, the young actors are quite talented and can do an outstanding job if they're offered challenging subjects. Many of them have baritone voice and good accent."
Talking of his past experiences, he maintains that he had an unforgettable and great learning experience while working with Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah and Big B. "I loved working with Smita Patil. She was an outstanding actress with exceptional screen presence. Ditto with Amitabh Bachchan. What I really admire about him is his absolute professionalism."
Remembered for his presence on small screen too as Kakkaji in Kakkaji Kahin, the actor feels that the quality of content on television is very poor these days. "Besides Kakkaji...I've also done Tamas, Yatra, 13 Short Stories with Gulzar, Mr Yogi by Ketan Mehta and Bharat Ek Khoj, but now I'm really not interested in small screen as saas-bahu drama doesn't interest me at all," he avers.
Though many actors have got into film production after a successful stint in acting, Om Puri doesn't believe in multiplying money by doing just anything. "I'm happy as an actor and with what I'm doing these days," reasons the actor who's all set to sing a rap song in one of his upcoming films. But this job has made him quite nervous. As he admits, "I'm not a singer. I can't sing at all. When I was offered this job in Amol Palekar's film, I was extremely nervous. But somehow I agreed at the end."
Well, it's just another feather on his crowded cap.
Says Om Puri as he talks to KT about his attempt at singing and why he has no wish to return to television.
We all know Om Puri as an actor par excellence. Though one may consider his talent to be God-gifted, he maintains it's an outcome of his long association with rangmanch. The actor with rare versatility has been in Bollywood for the past 30 years (and he takes pride in it). But these days he's working at a leisurely pace and is taking up one project at a time.
"I've just finished Kamal Sadanah's Victoria No. 203," informs Puri, who has of late been seen in comic capers. But if you thought the actor has suddenly got more inclined towards comedy, you can't be more wrong as he says that it's because of a lack of choice.
"I'm simply doing what I'm being offered. An actor's horizon shouldn't be limited. I can't pick and choose roles from the few that I'm being offered," he confesses candidly, and adds, "I'm not averse to comedy provided it makes sense."
Though 57-year-old Puri has proved his mettle in different genres of films, he still yearns to do some specific roles. "I still wish to do all the roles that Mr (Amitabh) Bachchan has done so far," he says.
Puri takes pride in the phenomenal changes that Bollywood is going through but rues the lack of good subjects. "The strong subjects taken up in 1960s' films like Teesri Kasam, Guide, Do Beegha Zameen, etc. are missing nowadays. Otherwise, the young actors are quite talented and can do an outstanding job if they're offered challenging subjects. Many of them have baritone voice and good accent."
Talking of his past experiences, he maintains that he had an unforgettable and great learning experience while working with Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah and Big B. "I loved working with Smita Patil. She was an outstanding actress with exceptional screen presence. Ditto with Amitabh Bachchan. What I really admire about him is his absolute professionalism."
Remembered for his presence on small screen too as Kakkaji in Kakkaji Kahin, the actor feels that the quality of content on television is very poor these days. "Besides Kakkaji...I've also done Tamas, Yatra, 13 Short Stories with Gulzar, Mr Yogi by Ketan Mehta and Bharat Ek Khoj, but now I'm really not interested in small screen as saas-bahu drama doesn't interest me at all," he avers.
Though many actors have got into film production after a successful stint in acting, Om Puri doesn't believe in multiplying money by doing just anything. "I'm happy as an actor and with what I'm doing these days," reasons the actor who's all set to sing a rap song in one of his upcoming films. But this job has made him quite nervous. As he admits, "I'm not a singer. I can't sing at all. When I was offered this job in Amol Palekar's film, I was extremely nervous. But somehow I agreed at the end."
Well, it's just another feather on his crowded cap.
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