Om Puri is no stranger to films on terrorism. After doing star turns in films such as Drohkaal and Maachis, he has proved — if proof were needed — that he can play characters who spew extreme views with great élan. So when Jagmohan Mundhra (of Provoked fame) began to look for an actor to play the role of a fundamentalist imam in his forthcoming film Shoot on Sight, Puri seemed a natural choice.

It was on the sets of Shoot On Sight that one caught up with the affable Om Puri. The veteran actor looks pleased with his role in the film. So how does he pick his films? “Ya to dhan achcha ho, nahin to role badhiya ho. Dono mein se ek cheez honi chahiye (Either the money has to be good or the role has to be good. One of the two is a must),” reveals Puri.

Puri admits that the character he plays in Shoot On Sight would definitely be considered a fundamentalist. “But I feel there is a certain amount of truth in what he feels. There is a resentment against all that is happening. But while I can sympathise with that, I certainly do not agree with the means he adopts to express that resentment. My character believes in violence. I do not,” he avers.

At a time when the West is trying to grapple with the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, a role like this is bound to get Puri lots of eyeballs. But Puri’s foray into the West began years ago, long before 9/11 happened, and long before Bollywood started its cultural colonisation of the United Kingdom .

“My first work here was in the television series Jewel in the Crown. (Actress) Jennifer Kapoor had suggested my name and I appeared in the first three episodes of the series in 1981,” reveals Puri. But his real break came with Roland Joffe’s City of Joy in 1991. He won heaps of accolades for his role as the rickshaw puller, Hasari Pal. “It was with City of Joy that things started to look up for me in the West. Soon after this, I was approached by Udayan Prasad for his film, My son, A Fanatic, and I got the Best Actor award in Brussels for my role there.”

In the last six years, Puri has returned to London quite often. He speaks of the city fondly. “London feels like a second home. Only a few days ago, my son was saying, ‘Baba, bahut din London nahin gaye,” says Puri with a laugh.

So how different is it working in London ? Very different, according to Puri. “They have a very disciplined work culture here. These guys are far more serious. Even six years ago, one often did a film in Mumbai without a proper script. This is unheard of here.”

And it is not just the work that draws him to London. The city has a charming atmosphere too, he says. “There is so much to do here, so many things are happening all the time — theatres, musicals, cinema. When I bring my son here, I go around the city — to places like Lego Land or Kew Gardens .”

Ask Puri to name some of his favourite roles, and he seems a bit nonplussed. Which is perhaps understandable, as he has played so many challenging roles in his career spanning nearly three decades. “Tamas was a very satisfying role,” he ventures at last. “Ardha Satya is another favourite because it was commercially successful and socially significant. It made a strong social statement and reached out to many.”

East is East is another film that Puri is proud to have worked in. “Director Damien ’Donnell was very modest. Right at the outset, he told us that he was not familiar with the sub-continental culture and asked us to tell him if he made any mistakes.” He also praises Udayan Prasad, director of My Son, A Fanatic. “He is a very sensitive director who wants to do serious work. I have done two films with him and have great respect for his talent”.

While he was making his mark on the big screen, Puri did a fair amount of television too. He is remembered for his performance in Bharat Ek Khoj, Kakaji Kahin and Mr Yogi. But the current crop of programmes on Indian television leaves him cold. “I have nothing against television as a medium. I have played so many roles on TV myself. Apart from Tamas and Bharat Ek Khoj, I have acted in short telefilms such as Shyam Benegal’s adaptation of Overcoat and in 13 short stories directed by Gulzar. But what is happening now is absolute rubbish. Nowadays, TV only has lousy soaps.”

Any plans of getting behind the camera? Not really, says Puri who admits to finding direction a tough proposition. “I do not understand its technical requirements. Maybe I can direct actors in a play — but, directing the cameraman is something that is beyond me.”

Married to Nandita, a Bengali, Puri switches to fluent Bangla from time to time. And he has enormous love for Calcutta too, he reveals. “It has improved so much,” he says. “There’s hardly any load shedding, the roads are wider, there are flyovers and an efficient Metro service.”

His wife is not his only connection to Calcutta , though. “In the Eighties I was in Calcutta working for a number of Bengali directors such as Satyajit Ray, Utpalendu Chatterjee, Manas Dey, Yubaraj Chowdhury, Mrinal Sen and Basu Bhattacharya. I was also acting with Pankaj Kapoor for a Shyam Bengal film called Arohan which was shot entirely in Bengal ,” he says.

Though a busy actor, Puri confesses that he has all the makings of a successful house-husband. “I can cook everything under the sun,” he tells you. And no matter how pressed for time he is, he always makes it a point to keep abreast of current affairs by diligently going though his copy of India Today. But he has one regret: he is not as well read as he would have liked to be. “In fact, Naseer (Naseeruddin Shah) gives me a complex every time he talks about literature and books,” he says.

Puri’s forthcoming projects include a film with Priyadarshan, and another with Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra, which is on Delhi’s multi-culturalism. “I am still to get a script for Rakeysh’s film,” he says with a wink. “But Rakeysh is a serious director — he wants to organise workshops with the actors before the film. I suggested that we do the workshops first so that we can incorporate changes into the script.”

Evidently, the method actor in him is as meticulous as ever. And it’s bound to take him to greater heights of creative excellence.