I met Om Puri, whose 72nd birth anniversary falls today, only twice, sixteen years apart. The first time was at the residence of Naseeruddin Shah soon after the release of the cult black comedy ‘Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron’ sometime in 1983. As part of a Free Press Journal Sunday feature, we had gathered the entire cast of the movie for a conversation. Om Puri was one of them.
I remember him as someone remarkably unselfconscious without being self-absorbed. He had already earned the reputation of being a world-class actor. Remember 'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron' came after his astounding performances in Satyajit Ray’s short film ‘Sadgati’ (1981) and Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi (1982). The same year that 'Jaane Bhi Do Yaron' was released also saw Puri bring the house down in Govind Nihalani’s ‘Ardh Satya’. Had the movie been made in the U.S. he would have won an Oscar for that.
During the 1983 conversation one did not hear much from him because there were so many of them together. However, a particular observation of his that has stayed with me all these years is what he had said in Hindi, “Main ek actor dukaandar hoon. Tarah tarah ke kirdar rakhta hoon. (I am an actor- shopkeeper. I stock many different kinds of characters.)”
Quite strikingly, a reference to dukaan or shop to describe his profession came once again when I interviewed at a hotel in Santa Clara in California in 1999. By that time, Puri had already become celebrated in international cinema.
This is how one of our exchanges went.
Me : Are you consciously shifting towards a greater number of international films?
Om Puri: बम्बई में तो दुकान चल ही रही है.
And then to make sure that I understood it, he said, "The shop is also open in Bombay."
Unquestionably, Om Puri was one of the world’s greatest actors who could hold his own against any Hollywood or British greats. What set him apart was, and I reiterate, that he was unselfconscious without being self-absorbed.
Check out the clip above from his 1994 film ‘Wolf’ directed by Mike Nichols when he had an extraordinary scene with Jack Nicholson. Puri played Dr. Vijay Alezais.
I had asked him about the fact that in that barely three-minute-long scene he went through so many subtle emotional changes, facially and gesturally. How did he manage that?
“I just lived that character in those moments. Everything else, including my facial expressions and gestures, just automatically materialized,” he said.
Here is to Om Puri.