by Subhash K Jha

Om Puri's new release Malaamal Weekly is with a favourite director. "Priyadarshan and I go back a long way. He has given me a role in most of his Hindi films including his last Kyun Ki which wasn't a very happy experience for me or the audience.

"But I feel Malaamal Weekly is going to work. It's an out-and-out comedy about a lottery winner in a village. I play a doodhwala. Paresh Rawal and I had a ball shooting the film. And I hope that enjoyment shows on screen."

Om laughs off the suggestion that there were ego problems between the two veteran character actors—or shall we call them actors of character?—during the shooting.

"Not at all. I've gone far beyond such issues. And so has Paresh. There was absolutely no friction between us. We were too busy shouldering our responsibilities as the main protagonists to look anxiously over our shoulders at each other."

Om admits Paresh and he are the heroes of Malaamal Weekly. "There's a romantic lead. But that occupies a small part of the film. Paresh and I are there throughout. Though set in a village, the setting becomes irrelevant as the story progresses."