Indian parallel cinema star Om Puri romances Oscar-winning British actress Helen Mirren in the gastronomic love story The Hundred Foot Journey out this weekend. He says romantic films with older couples can be a good watch, too.
“I feel even old people can do a nice love story, but [in India] we don’t make that kind of films. In the West, such films are being made and they make a nice romance, which is more like compassion,” the 63-year-old said during an interview.
Co-produced by DreamWorks Pictures, Reliance Entertainment and Oprah Winfrey, the culture-clash drama-comedy has been praised by international media as “a trip worth taking”.
Swedish director Lasse Hallstrom has whipped up an eclectic cast for the The Hundred Foot Journey, which also features Indian American Manish Dayal, Bollywood actress Juhi Chawla and Canadian actress Charlotte Le Bon.
A screen adaptation of Richard C. Morais’ 2010 bestseller of the same name sees Mirren’s and Puri’s characters as rivals who eventually fall in love with each other.
The actor says the film is about “emotions and age.”
“The film’s story is about a French and an Indian restaurateur and their rivalry. It’s also about French and Indian culture,” he said.
“It’s a wonderful film, a very warm film and it also has a parallel love story. It’s a different love story, which starts with bitterness and anger and eventually ends in a warm relationship.”
Puri, no stranger to the Western film industry, praises its “exposure”.
“Every person wants to stretch himself and widen his audience. Since Hollywood has got more exposure and is shown all over the world, it’s obvious that every actor would want to do an English film and explore himself.”
“I have no regrets at all. I have done quite well for myself. I didn’t have a conventional face, but I have done well and I am proud of it,” said the Film and Television Institute of India alumnus.
From Ardh Satya to Maachis, from Gupt to Hera Pheri, from East is East to The Hundred Foot Journey, the actor surely comes with a vast experience in Indian and international cinematic space.
If he is noted for his work on the silver screen, he is equally active on the stage.
“I personally enjoy theatre, but preferably I do films so that I can reach up to maximum audience. If you want to give a serious message, it will reach out to maximum people through films. But through theatre, you can hardly reach out to about 3,000 audience at a time,” he said.
