Bollywood has become a bania shop: Om Puri
ADITYA GHOSH
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
OLKATA: Starlet invasion in Mumbai film industry is deteriorating the standards of acting and quality of films, says veteran actor Om Puri. “It has become more like a Bania shop where the son follows his father in the shop,” he said, adding “out of job beauty queens are equally guilty of bringing the standards down.”
The veteran thespian was in the city to promote Nagesh Kukunoor’s Bollywood Calling which made debut in Kolkata on Friday.
He pointed out that despite having all the resources, none of the celebrity parents cares to send their ward to acting schools to learn the basics. “Acting is an art and needs schooling. The lack of training shows in their performance. They have every right to join the industry but should also have some regard for the art and have a level of formal training. But nobody seems interested,” Om Puri lamented.
“The likes of Nasiruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, Anupam Kher, Amol Palekar, Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil slogged it out at drama schools before joining the industry. That is why they could work successfully in all types of movies, while earning respect and dignity,” Puri claimed.
Quality work, feels Puri, involves some amount of risk which the director should not be afraid to take. “For example, Lagaan was a great risk that Aamir took. But it has become successful and the producer certainly deserves accolade for it. Certainly we cannot afford to churn out love stories in some form or the other for a couple of decades more as we are doing it today,” said Puri.
Puri blames producers for the rut in Bollywood. “There is simply no patronage towards good work or a trained actor and actress. Everybody wants to follow the same formula and make escapist movies, which would sell dreams to poor Indians. These plush and feel-good movies showing opulence is ruining the industry. They may become super hits but we will never be able to tell the world that this is what we do here, which fortunately movies like Lagaan and Monsoon Wedding can,” he said.
Politics, Puri feels, is the most enchanting entertainment in India. “There should be more political satire in films and television,” he said, adding, “and it should start with a tele-serial with the works of R.K. Laxman.”
“There are so many political events and politicians involved in all kinds of gawky things. People like Laloo and Jayalalitha can be very good subjects for directors to work with,” he said.
Kakkaji Kahin, a tele-serial and a political satire where Puri played the lead role of Kakkaji, remains his favourite. “The serial was not allowed an extension due to political reasons. One of the ministers thought is was too close for his comfort. So it was promptly stopped,” Puri said.