Quotes from Om Puri

As a young man, I was very introverted and quiet, but with a lot of intensity and feelings.

I had hoped when my life was chronicled, it would be an inspirational story.

What Bollywood lacks is scripts. A lot of the films are copies of western films.

I prefer working in good cinema, wherever it is. I like subjects that have a universal appeal.

We have filmmakers who make films with some kind of responsibility and take cinema seriously like Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalani, Prakash Jha. But now these people also take stars... Without stars they cannot work.

I don't expect anything from anybody. When you grow old Your days are gone; it is part of life.

When Nandita expressed a desire to write about me, I couldn't stop her because she's my wife, but she has forgotten who she is.

In theatre, you've got to make the connect with your audience in the first three minutes. If you haven't, you know you've almost lost them.

Theatre is live content, and you can tell if you have worked your audience.

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.

I am grateful to theatre for making me what I am today. But it's not like theatre is my first love. I am equally attached to cinema, which is, actually, a child of theatre, since it borrows heavily from it.

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.

I don't spend on expensive brands. I don't need foreign holidays.

Our stars are quite notorious. I mean, they don't show up on time. This is, you know, something which is very, very annoying.

When I was at school, I wanted to join the army. At college, I started acting in college plays, and it became a kind of addiction. I was very shy when I was at school, but the plays seemed to give voice to my feelings.

I have been in the film industry for 35 years, and everyone, including the spot-boys, will vouch for my character.

The fact is I like Mumbai less and less. My son says, 'Baba, let's go for a drive', and I tell him, 'Where's the fun of a drive in this place?' You get caught in a million traffic jams, and you spend time cooped in your car with all that mad cacophony around you.

In western countries, there are roles written for older actors. Films are made on them, including love stories.

Actors are just soldiers who follow commands.

I was very sensitive to the environment around, and this disparity in people, seeing beggars and laborers not paid well, used to disturb me. So these emotions in these roles came very naturally to me.

Parallel cinema has not made an effort to communicate in a language the other person understands.

Fat noses have no place in the Hindi film industry. But it is not so in the West - otherwise, Anthony Quinn would have never been an actor.

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.

Meeting Helen Mirren was a fabulous experience. I had played it out in my mind, how I should greet her when we would be introduced. But the way we met was funny because I just didn't recognise her!