'Won't work with you': When Sudhir Mishra's quest for perfection irritated Om Puri

Late Om Puri is considered one of finest actors in Hindi film industry. artiste delivered impeccable performances throughout his four-dece career, bagging appreciation galore. One of his impressive performances was in 1991 movie Dharavi by director Sudhir Mishra. Recently, in an interview, latter recalled his experiences with veteran actor Om and praised him, not just for his work, but also for person he was.

Sudhir Mishra calls actor Om Puri, 'graceful and generous'

Sudhir Mishra first worked with Om Puri on 1983 film Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, for which former was a writer and an assistant director. In an interview with Unfiltered By Samdish, Mishra said, "I worked with Om Puri when I me my third film, I was a young man. I h worked with him as an assistant in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron and n in 1991, I worked with him (as a director)."

"He was a big guy. He was so graceful and generous. None of se guys were easy. When one says, ‘he was graceful’, it is almost as if y were boring people. Everyone who talks about Irrfan, se days sounds like he was a boring person. He was not. Those were wonderful, ambitious, complicated times. re was a need for money and good work. It was difficult.”

Sudhir Mishra also shared Om Puri was ver justable with last-minute changes and even apt accordingly. “You could tell anything to him, he was graceful, technically perfect. You could provoke him at last moment and it would be re in shot. If I’d say, ‘Puri sahab, ek aisa khayal aaya hai’, he would do that on screen. If re was no tripod and you’d request him to spre his legs and stand and n give close-ups, he would do that. He was so technically (sound)", director Sudhir Mishra ded. 

director's films were often set at night, but shootings at that time were not something Om Puri was fond of. Mishra recalled Om Puri being angry about night shoots and saying ‘Kya hai yaar? Chal… leave it.’ However, National Award-winning actor would n agree and n invite former to his home and feed him 'Bhindi.'

ir last collaboration Dharavi won National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi, but film endured some difficult moments with Mishra's quest for perfection not going down well with Puri.

 “Sometimes you go on and on, make m do difficult things. Like I h placed two cameras in separate vans on ro and asked him to run, stop at markers, n turn, n run again and repeat this four times. He would do it, but if someone is running in heat with slippers on, by third or fourth time he is bound to get irritated. He would say, ‘Tere Saath Nahi karuga ab aagey, tu bohot zya karta hai (I won’t work with you anymore, you go to extremes). He was senior also to me", Sudhir ded.

Moreover, filmmaker also revealed that be believed in casting new actors, and that was reason he did not work with Om Puri.