When Rachel Griffiths was mobbed with co-star Om Puri in England

Muriel's Wedding actor talks about Dangal’s influence on her directorial outing, hopes for better distribution of Australian movies in India

Now, says the actor-turned-director, Rachel Griffiths is open to working on a project that captures the Indian-Australian experience. “It’s something not many films have tried to narrate. (Express Photo)

WHEN Rachel Griffiths stepped out for tea with co-star Om Puri on the first day of My Son the Fanatic’s shoot in England’s Halifax, they found themselves mobbed by fans from the town’s sizable South Asian community.

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“Hundreds of people surrounded us. Among them was a man who was crying and telling how he loved Om more than his own brother, as the actor had shown what it means to be humane. I thought that was the greatest compliment an actor can receive,” Griffiths recalls.

Working on the 1997 film, a powerful immigrant tale based on the eponymous short story by Hanif Kureishi, was an “eye-opening experience”, the Australian actor told The Indian Express. “…because we in Australia weren’t telling the stories of immigration and how the next generation was feeling the way those in Britain did.”

Griffiths is in Panaji for the International Film Festival of India, where the restored cut of her 1994 debut film, Muriel’s Wedding, was screened Saturday. Griffiths plays Rhonda Epinstall, the best friend of Toni Collette’s socially awkward protagonist, in the acclaimed comedy-drama.

Now, says the actor-turned-director, she is open to working on a project that captures the Indian-Australian experience. “It’s something not many films have tried to narrate. My Melbourne, an initiative by Mitu Bhowmick Lange, is an important movie that makes the invisible lives more visible.”

In My Son the Fanatic, Griffiths plays a sex worker who befriends a Pakistani taxi driver, Parvez, played by Puri. On the set, she recalls, Puri called her “Rachel G” and she called the late actor “Om ji”. Her American film debut, My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997), released the same year.

The Golden Globe-winning actor, who has appeared in popular American shows such as Six Feet Under (2001-2005) and Brothers and Sisters (2006-2011), moved to Australia after living in the US for over a decade.

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“I decided to return to Australia to tell Australian stories. Your life is not in your own hands when you’re working on long-running television shows,” Griffiths says. “It’s one’s responsibility to tell one’s own national stories. Today, Australian stories are told by a diverse group of Australians that reflects who lives in the country now.”

Some of the Indian movies that Griffiths has watched and enjoyed are RRR (2022) and Dangal (2016). She says: “Dangal was a big inspiration for my film Ride Like a Girl (2019).” The actor hoped that after the agreements signed between India and Australia, the distribution of Australian movies would become easier.

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