Om Puri enjoys the discipline in Hollywood

His last film, Teen They Bhai, directed by Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra, may have been a box office dud, but that’s not stopping actor Om Puri from feeling at ease. The veteran actor has a much-awaited movie to look forward too — Don 2, directed by Farhan Akhtar.

He says, “Farhan is a director to watch out for. His films are of international standards and he can be a serious filmmaker with a sense of humour. I’ve known his father (Javed Akhtar), who has a great sense of humour too, but Farhan goes well beyond his father in that department.”

Puri, who has tasted success in Hollywood with films like East is East and City of Joy, among others, takes immense pride in his body of work.

“I can’t say commercial cinema today is great, barring a few films. There are about 15 odd directors who are doing a great job,” says the actor, citing filmmakers like Karan Johar, Prakash Jha and Vishal Bhardwaj.

Hollywood, he says, is a different ball game altogether. “I enjoy the discipline in Hollywood. But as opposed to the time when people in Bollywood lacked discipline, and didn’t show up on time on sets, we’ve come a long way. Our films have also improved a lot technically, but we still copy international films. We have great literature in our country, so I don’t understand why we can’t refer to them instead,” rues Puri, whose sequel to East is East — West is West — is ready for release.

“Maybe I’ll get some good offers after that,” he pipes in.

And although Puri has done several plays since his hey days, he still feels cinema offers more creative satisfaction. “With so many distractions, people talking, lights and camera on you, it’s much harder to be isolated and act out. Though I enjoy working on stage, cinema reaches out to a larger audience. It’s like farming, you plough land; only today you have a tractor that covers so much area in lesser time,” he signs off.