In Govind Nihalani’s Dev, Om Puri was one of the most outspoken actors of the country, played Bad Cop, the communal law enforcer while Amitabh Bachchan played the Good Cop.
Never one to hide his anger and hurt, Om once surprised this writer by suddenly asking, “Why couldn’t Govind have cast me in (Amitabh) Bachchan saab’s role in Dev? I’ve the highest regard for Bachchan saab. I played his elder brother in Ravi Chopra’s Baabul, although I am eight years his junior. I did it for the pleasure of working with him for the first time.”
With Dev, which turned 21 years old on June 11, Om felt the situation was different. “I had done a major successful film Ardh Satya with Govind. But when he made a big-budgeted film (Dev) he went to Bachchan saab to play the protagonist. I was given the negative role of the corrupt cop. I have a grouse with directors like Govind, Prakash Jha and Raj Kumar Santoshi. When they need Naseer or me, they come running to us and we happily agree to play whatever they offer. But when they do big-budgeted commercial films, they go to the stars,” he said. Dev also starred Fardeen Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan in pivotal roles.
