Om Puri hasn’t mellowed down. We talk to the new NFDC chairman on his hunger for better work, playing Zia-ul-Haq and his first item number.

You are acting in some of this year’s most awaited films such as Dilli 6, Billo Barber and Singh is Kinng. Tell us about your roles.
In Rakeysh Mehra’s Dilli 6, I play the heroine’s father, a hot-headed businessman. In Billo Barber, I play a funny moneylender who wants to become a big producer. When Shah Rukh Khan comes to his town for a shoot, he hounds Billo to introduce him to the star. I am doing a more challenging role in Mukhbir, a police officer who uses an informer to his department’s advantage. But he also treats him like his son and sacrifices his life to protect him. 

From Ardh Satya to Mukhbir—the policeman seems to be a favourite character. What’s your view of the real-life police force?
I am sympathetic to them. It’s a tough job. I feel bad when I see them on duty during festivals. They also have families who want them to be home for celebrations. We tackled that aspect of their lives in Ardh Satya, where the sub-inspector lived in a chawl and cooked his food, unlike commercial cinema where police officers are shown to reside in palaces.  

Tell us about the item number you are doing in Mere Baap Pehle Aap.
It’s not an item number per se as I am not just doing a song in the film. I have a full-length role of a middle-aged man desperate to get married. It’s a cute character and the song is a dream sequence in which I dance with foreign girls to pop beats. Now that’s a first. 

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