Om Puri Movies
Described as "the finest actor of the post-independence generation" by one expert on the Indian cinema, Om Puri is one of India's most respected and prolific screen personalities, having appeared in over 140 films over the course of his career. Thanks to starring work in such films as My Son the Fanatic and East Is East, Puri has also earned increasing recognition among a Western audience, further establishing himself as an actor of great range and versatility.Born in a rural area of northern India in 1950, Puri grew up planning to be a military man like his father. His ambitions shifted when, as a student at a Punjabi university, he joined a theatre group. With the support of his parents, Puri studied acting for three years at the National School of Drama in New Delhi, where he performed in a wide variety of works ranging from Indian folk plays to Kabuki drama to Shakespeare, the last of which gave him the opportunity to play Hamlet in Hindi. The actor followed his studies with a stint at the Indian Film Institute in Poona and then decided to try his luck in Bombay, India's film capital. Although he lacked the classically handsome features of most Indian film stars, Puri was able to find work based on the strength of his previous theatre experience. Once he began appearing on the screen, he found himself in great demand thanks in large part to his seemingly limitless versatility, and he became established over the years as one of his country's best-known actors.
After a starring role in Satyajit Ray's Sadgati (1981), which cast him as a member of India's caste of untouchables, Puri began attracting the notice of Western filmmakers. He appeared in Gandhi (1982), Wolf (1994), and City of Joy (1992), the last of which cast him as Patrick Swayze's unlikely savior. He had his greatest international success to date as the star of My Son the Fanatic (1997), a British satirical comedy written by Hanif Kureshi. As Parvez, a liberal-minded Pakistani taxi driver living in northern England who cannot understand his son's sudden alliance with a group of Islamic fundamentalists, Puri turned in a vivid, wryly-nuanced performance that many critics deemed as one of the year's best. The following year, he earned another lavish dose of acclaim for his portrayal of George Khan, another Pakistani patriarch living in England in East Is East. Where Puri's previous character had been laid-back and open-minded, Khan was rigid and conservative (despite his untraditional marriage to an English woman), and critics and audiences alike marveled at the actor's capacity for carving such distinctive characterizations from a superficially similar mold. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
Ismail Merchant, best known as the producing half of the successful Merchant-Ivory team, once again steps behind the camera as director for this story of life among Indian expatriates in the 1950s. Ganesh (Aasif Mandvi) is a young man who was born to a community of Indian exiles living in Trinidad. Always bright, Ganesh hopes to hake a career for himself as a writer, but he lacks the money to pursue writing full-time, and his ideas about education clash with those of his employers after he gets a job as a teacher, leaving him with few prospects. Returning to Trinidad after the death of his father, Ganesh is pressured into marrying a local woman named Leela (Ayesha Dharker), whose father, Ramlogan (Om Puri), is a successful merchant. Ganesh and Leela move to a modest home in the hills, where he begins work on a book, but Leela chafes at the Spartan lifestyle dictated by Ganesh's finances, and for a time leaves their home to stay with her parents. In time, Ganesh completes his first book -- a book for lay people on the Hindu faith -- but sales are sluggish until Ganesh and Leela come up with a plan to boost interest in Ganesh's work. Ganesh is promoted as a "Mystic Masseur" with special powers to heal the infirm; Ganesh's routine quickly makes his work very popular with spiritual seekers, and his book becomes a top-seller. However, Ganesh becomes disillusioned with his newfound fame and power, especially after he attempts to take advantage of his celebrity by entering the political arena. The Mystic Masseur was based on a novel by V.S. Naipaul, who won an Nobel prize in the year of this film's release. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 2001
A man who has devoted his life to animals rather than dealing with the emotional and political uncertainties of humans finds he's challenged when his zoo becomes a battlefield in this downbeat drama. Ludovic (Sam Neill) lives and works in an unnamed city in the Balkans; once an idealistic communist, he grew disenchanted with politics in general and socialism in particular, and now devotes his energies to his job as a zookeeper. Political turmoil has thrown the zoo into the middle of a war zone, and after repeated bombing raids have come perilously close to the animal sanctuary, the staff has been ordered to evacuate. But Ludovic refuses to leave, and with the help of a staff veterinarian (Om Puri), he single-handedly tends to the needs of the animals. Ludovic, however, learns that there's no escaping the chaos around him, and as troops led by Dragov (Ulrich Thomsen) raid the zoo and take the veterinarian away in the name of "ethnic cleansing," he realizes he must make some sort of a stand, and soon gives sanctuary to Ankica (Gina McKee) and Zioig (Javor Loznica), a mother and her son who narrowly escaped execution in a nearby village. The Zookeeper was director Ralph Ziman's second film dealing with the dangers and tragedies of racially motivated politics, following his 1995 debut Hearts and Minds. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Neill, Gina McKee, (more)
- 2001
- R
British television comic Steve Coogan made his first bid for a big-screen career in this comedy, in which he plays Simon Garden, a singularly inept parole officer who has not had terribly good luck with his clients -- after many years on the job, only three of the former prisoners he's been looking after have avoided returning to a life of crime. Garden is transferred from his post in Blackpool to a new assignment in Manchester, and it isn't long before he finds himself in hot water. Garden happened to be on hand when Burton (Stephen Dellane), a crooked cop, murdered a drug dealer with whom he had been involved in a cocaine deal. Realizing he's in trouble, Burton rearranges the evidence so that Garden looks like the killer. A surveillance camera captured Burton's crime on tape, and now Garden must get his hands on the tape in order to clear his name. However, Burton has cleverly stashed the tape in a top security bank vault to keep it away from Garden, so the parole officer must stage a break-in to collect the evidence -- and he chooses as his accomplices George (Om Puri), Jeff (Steven Waddington), and Colin (Ben Miller), the three parolees who've stayed out of trouble until now. The Parole Officer also features Emma Williams as a former associate of Burton's who ends up helping out Garden, and cameos from Omar Sharif and Jenny Agutter. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Coogan, Lena Headey, (more)
- 2001
New wrinkles are added to an old crime when a spitting image of the victim shows up in this dark comedy. Pen-y-wig is a small town along the southern coast of Wales where, in 1988, Jenny Thomas (Emmy Rossum) won first prize in a local beauty contest. On her way home, Jenny began having car trouble, and when Tin Man (Om Puri), a local oddball, found her stranded by the side of the road, he offered to go find help. Jenny was soon approached by Joe (Richard Coyle), a boy she had been dating, as well as Joe's friend Glen (Paddy Considine). Jenny and Joe got into a quarrel, and when Jenny tripped and fell, she struck her head and died immediately. Panicked, Joe and Glen told the police that Tin Man had killed Jenny, and he was found guilty and sentenced to a lengthy stay behind bars. In 2000, Jenny's sister, Tina Trent (Susan Lynch), returns to Pen-y-wig after spending several years in Alaska, and she brings along her teenaged daughter, Nicky Trent, who bears a striking resemblance to Jenny (and is also played by Emmy Rossum). Nicky's arrival in town inspires no small amount of gossip about the death of her aunt, which is bad news for Glen, currently running for a seat in an upcoming local election. As it happens, Tin Man is due to be released from jail soon, and Max (Ioan Gruffudd), a police detective new to the community, begins looking at the loose ends of the case against Tin Man, certain there's more to the story than he's been told. Max also develops a personal interest in the case when he becomes involved with Nicky, who is living with her mother in the same rooming house that Max calls home. Happy Now was the first feature film from director and screenwriter Philippa Collie-Cousins, who in 1999 won the BAFTA award for Best Short Film for her comedy The Deadness of Dad. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ioan Gruffudd, Susan Lynch, (more)
- 2001
In this bittersweet family drama, Joseph (Rushabh Patni) is a young boy from a poor family growing up in Diu, an island nation off the coast of India. Joseph's family arranges for the boy to receive a scholarship at a private Catholic boarding school, but Joseph has a hard time adjusting to his new environment; he grows homesick, misses his friends and relatives, and since charity students like himself are given less to eat, he's in a near-constant state of hunger. Eventually, Joseph is caught stealing food, which further alienates him from his classmates, but as it happens, Joseph wasn't taking the food for himself, but to help the family of a boy in even worse straits than himself. My Little Devil also stars Om Puri as a cook at the school who tries to help young Joseph. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Om Puri
- 1998
Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukthankjar, who previously collaborated on Two Women (1996), directed this drama about AIDS in India where the number of HIV-infected is almost two million. The story interweaves plotlines featuring a slum dweller with AIDS, a Naval officer who has a car accident and gets a blood transfusion, and a doctor who traces the tainted blood to a corrupt blood-bank manager. Shown at the 1998 Mill Valley Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Om Puri, Mita Vashisht, (more)
East is East, a fast-moving comedy drama of mixed-race manners, is set in Salford, England in 1970. It centers on the Anglo-Pakistani alliance of the Khan family that is both claustrophobically cohesive and hopelessly dysfunctional. In their over-crowded terrace house, anarchy erupts daily with farcical energy. The Khan children, caught between the traditional dogmatism of their Pakistani father (Om Puri) and laissez-faire attitude of their British mother (Linda Bassett), have a lot of difficulties to follow their dreams of becoming citizens of the modern world. Based on the award-winning stage play by Ayub Khan-Din, East is East had great success in the theatres of London before it was made into a film. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Om Puri, Linda Bassett, (more)
Based on Robinton Mistry's biting epic novel of the same name, this drama recounts the spiritual and physical consequences that result when a decent man allows himself to be convinced to perform an illegal act in the name of patriotism. The story takes place in India, 1971, a time when the country was fighting Pakistan for control of Bangladesh. Middle-aged Parsee Gustad Noble (Roshan Seth) has spent most of his adult life caring for his wife and children. With a sickly daughter and an estranged grown son, Noble feels dissatisfied and bored with his life until he reunites with his estranged friend Jimmy Bilimoria (Naseeruddin Shah), who asks Gustad in a letter to launder money for his cause. Though normally known for his impeccable morals, Gustad agrees to do so, employing the assistance of his dimwitted co-worker Dinshawji (Sam Dastor). This film was shown in the "Special Presentation" category at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival. It also received numerous "Genie" awards in its native Canada. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roshan Seth, Soni Razdan, (more)
In a small city in the English midlands, a Pakistani immigrant named Parvez (Om Puri) works long hours driving a cab to provide modest comfort for his disapproving wife, Minoo (Gopi Desai), and better opportunities for his collegiate son, Farid (Akbar Kurtha). When Farid breaks off his engagement with the daughter of the city's white police commissioner, drops out of university and joins a cell of Islamic fundamentalists, Parvez must bide his time and hope that his son will come around to his own liberal, assimilationist views. Meanwhile, a monied German entrepreneur named Schitz (Stellan Skarsgard) arrives in town on business and retains Parvez's services as not only driver but navigator of the city's steamy underbelly. Parvez recommends the services of Bettina (Rachel Griffiths), a local hooker with whom he has struck up an unlikely but warm friendship. Schitz's callous treatment of both of his new employees soon, however, sickens Parvez. After his son convinces Parvez to let a visiting holy man move into the family home, the conflicts between Parvez's nocturnal activities and his home life escalate. The screenplay was adapted by Hanif Kureishi from his own short story, which appears in the collection Love in a Blue Time. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
A film that will be most meaningful to those familiar with the complexities of East Indian politics, this drama offers a chilling portrait of a terrorist. Pali joins a guerrilla group after his best friend Jassi, who lives peacefully on a lonely farm with his sister Viran (Pali's fiancee), is wrongfully arrested by the police and tortured for his terrorism. Jassi returns home a crushed man and Pali decides to join the outlaws in their camp. Eventually Viran joins him and with the group leader they plot the assassination of a minister. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Bollywood heartthrob Bobby Deol stars in this musical drama as an innocent man charged with killing his father. Though he did not commit the crime, circumstantial evidence suggests he may have been involved, and the young man is found guilty. Unable to deal with the constraints of prison life, he escapes and sets out to prove his innocence by tracking down the actual murderer. Kajol and Manisha Koirala highlight the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Manisha Koirala, Om Puri, (more)
- 1997
In the north Indian state of Bihar, Ketki (Madhuri Dixit) marries weak Vinay (Ayub Khan), who is exploited by hard-nosed businessman Tirpat (Mohan Joshi). Ketki then organizes local women against Tirpat & Co. Her group includes her sister-in-law Chandravati (Shabana Azmi), who had a run-in with dangerous priest Abhay (Mohan Agashe). Eventually, Abhay orders a religious death sentence for the sisters. Shown at the 1997 London Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shabana Azmi, Madhuri Dixit, (more)
A man bringing modern transportation to the ancient jungles of Africa discovers one of man's oldest enemies lays in wait for him in this period adventure drama. John Beaumont (Tom Wilkinson) is the owner of a British railroad firm who is building a rail line through Uganda. A bridge is needed so that the tracks may cross a large river, and engineer John Henry Patterson (Val Kilmer) is summoned to the African nation to supervise construction. While Beaumont has placed Patterson under a strict deadline, the bridge designer is certain that with his guidance, the local laborers will be able to complete the job in time. However, when several workers are killed in an attack by a lion, Patterson is forced to deal with the animal; while he bags a lion who invades the work site one evening, it soon becomes obvious that there's more than one predator in the nearby jungle. The lion attacks continue, eventually claiming the lives of 130 men, and Patterson and Beaumont finally agree to call in Charles Remmington (Michael Douglas), an expert hunter who understands the nature of the man-eaters and knows how to lure them into his trap. The Ghost and the Darkness is based on a true story, which was previously brought to the screen in 1953, in Arch Oboler's pioneering 3-D adventure Bwana Devil. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Douglas, Val Kilmer, (more)
- 1995
The unjust discrimination that comes with the caste system in rural India provides the basis of this socially conscious drama that centers on the relationship between a cruel, exploitative landowner and his workers who belong to a caste of pariahs. Singh is the lord of his estate. His favorite pastime is big-game hunting, but when his drinking affects his coordination, Singh must hire a shikari (a sharpshooter) to make the kills for him. He pays Bharosa well and gives him a hut in the gangato (the name of the untouchable caste) colony. There, the young hunter finds himself surrounded by discontented workers planning an uprising. Their leader is a cynical young woman, Bijari. At first Bharosa refuses to join them, but after he successfully hunts for the master a few times and still finds himself treated like dirt, he begins to feel great resentment about the humiliation inherent in being a gangato. Things come to a head when Singh, who lusts after Bijari, has her kidnapped. Unfortunately, his henchman did not count on her vigorous resistance, nor did they count on Bharosa who joins in to protect her. Later Singh gets his revenge on the young man by beating him up and ruining his shooting arm. When Singh learns that all his workers are preparing to abandon his land, he leads his gang to the village and plans to burn it. Unfortunately for him, he is met by the furious Bharosa. Violence ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1995
The terrorism running rampant in modern India provides the basis of this powerfully provocative and violent Indian thriller. The story centers on Abhay Singh, an interrogations expert who works with the anti-terrorist squad, and his partner Abbvas Lodhi who are assigned to head a highly classified operation to infiltrate a particularly dangerous group of terrorists. The two leaders in turn assign two rookies to actually get into the group. Three years pass. One of the spies is killed, and the other has become a deputy within the group. He works under Bhadra. When Bhadra orders the terrorists to attack a busy marketplace and kill many innocent people, the police finally order arrests to be made and during the raid, they capture Bhadra without realizing his identity and rank. During interrogation, Bhadra reveals that the police have been betrayed and now some of them are in terrible danger. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1995
- R
In the mid 1960s, scores of refugees from India illegally came to England looking for a better life and found themselves living the very lives they sought to escape. This British drama, chronicles the daily existence of one household of these illegal refugees. The tale centers on Amir who journeys to a grungy northern English industrial town via vegetable crate with only a few dollars to his name. He ends up staying in a ramshackle house with 17 other illegals, all of them men. They lead a dreary life working in a factory filled with others like them. The only bright spot in their lives is a weekly outing to the local cinema that shows Indian films during the daytime. Occasionally a whore visits the house and provides the men with sexual release. The leader of the house is Hussein Shah, a traditional patriarch. Upon his arrival, Amir is befriended by Sakib, a student who shows him the basic ropes of English living. Despite their humble lives, the men get on well. But one day, Hussein brings home a new illegal alien, a lovely blonde woman from Ireland and trouble ensues. The woman is unmarried and pregnant. To help her, Hussein allows a marriage of convenience between the woman and his smart-alecky nephew Irshad. The baby is born, but more trouble ensues when Hussein begins objecting to the woman's free-spirited ways, and his nephew's lack of respect. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1994
This Indian drama provides a sympathetic view of the daily existence of some of India's poorest people. The film is set within a small, illegal shanty town surrounding a railroad station. The people, who live without water and electricity, eke out their living by stealing food from the passing trains.This pilfering is ignored by the sympathetic station master. The story focuses upon Somra, the adolescent son of Jitni, a beautiful unwed mother who works in town as a housekeeper. Jitni's lover is Mathura, one of the head thieves. Mathura and his gang of children, and it is the children who leap onto the moving trains to toss out food and items to waiting adults, meet opposition with the new commissioner of the Railway Protection Force. Somra loves to fly kites. Mathura, because he believes Somra hates him for loving Somra's mother, gets the boy deeply involved in his gang and then sacrifices him to the railroad guards. The outcome of the film is surprising. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shabana Azmi, Sayed Shafique, (more)
