Veteran actor Om Puri had a tough time getting into the skin of the character of Zia-ul Haq, the late Pakistan president, in the international venture "Charlie Wilson's War" also starring Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks. The diligent actor that he is, Puri was in a fix. "I didn't know how to play former president of Pakistan Zia-ul Haq in Mike Nichols' 'Charlie Wilson's War'," Puri said. There's practically no visual document on him, which I could consult. In any case I would not want to imitate the man's physical mannerisms. I just want to get a grip on some of his personality traits to understand the working of a very clever mind," explains the veteran actor.
He finally consulted actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha who knew Zia. "He knew Zia-ul Haq very well, met him many times. Shatrughan told me something very interesting about the Pakistani leader. He used to laugh a lot. I incorporated that trait into my performance," Om Puri said. "I didn't want to play him as a caricature. There's always the danger of going overboard. But, Zia had to be portrayed as a bargainer...a brotherly though bullying bargainer," he added.
The prolific Nichols has made classics like "Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf" and "The Graduate" early in his career. He also directed Meryl Streep in two of her best-known works, "Silkwood" and "Heartburn" (both based on real incidents). Apparently, Nichols' last film "Closer" about a marital quartet featuring Julia Roberts was banned in India for its strong sexual verbal content.
Source:- http://www.headlinesindia.com/archive_html/02December2007_64664.html
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