When Anubhav Sinha was unimpressed by Om Puri’s performance and asked him to quit, veteran actor reacted with surprise

Anubhav Sinha recalled when he was left unimpressed by Om Puri's performance in the show Sea Hawks, but was in for a shock when he saw the footage in the editing room.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | Updated: March 23, 2023 11:17 AM IST

3 min read

Om Puri and Anubhav Sinha worked together on the show Sea Hawks.

Heaping praise on actor Rajkummar Rao, director Anubhav Sinha compared him to the late Om Puri, and his regular collaborator Kumud Mishra. Recalling an incident where he was unimpressed by Om Puri’s performance and told him so, he said that he was mistaken, because he hadn’t realised that the veteran actor knew exactly how to pitch his performance. He said that Rajkummar and Kumud have the same skill.

In an interview with The Lallantop, he said that all three actors have a sixth sense about the larger picture, and they know that the simplest change in expression will be magnified on the big screen. So, they know exactly which buttons to push, and when to take their foot off the pedal. He said that he discovered this for the first time when he was working with Om Puri, and thought that he was phoning it in and working just for the paycheck.

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He recalled, “Om ji ko maine bol diya tha, mera show kar rahe they Sea Hawks, chaar din ki shooting hui, maine kaha, ‘Sir chhod dijiye aap, paise ke liye kar rahe hain, man se nahi kar rahe’. Woh bole, ‘Kya bol rahe ho yaar, main toh bade man se kar raha hoon, mujhe toh bada maza aa raha hai tumhare saath kaam karke.’ (I was working with Om on Sea Hawks, and after four days I told him, ‘I think you’re phoning it in, your heart isn’t in it, you should just leave it’. And he was surprised, he said, ‘But I’m enjoying working with you, I’m taking this seriously’).”

The filmmaker continued, “Mujhe lagta tha woh scene dekhte they, rakh dete they, idhar udhar ghoomte they, mazak wazak kar liya, phir camera ke saamne khade hogaye, shot kar liya, chale gaye. Mujhe mehnat karta hua actor nahi dikh raha tha. Par jab main editing room mein pahuncha, mujhe laga baap re baap, game hi alag hai (I used to think that he’s chilling around, not taking things seriously, just mouthing his lines and moving on. I didn’t see the hard work. But when I saw the footage in the editing room, I was blown away. He’s on another level).”

Anubhav and Rajkummar’s first film together, Bheed, will be released in theatres on Friday. The film has been marred by controversy leading up to its release, because a certain section of the public has taken offence to the parallels that Anubhav has drawn in the film between the Partition and the first pandemic-induced lockdown.

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