Om Puri and The Hundred Foot Journey

The last year or so took more than its fair share of talented people from the world of art and entertainment. Some got a lot of attention and deservedly so. When someone of Alan Rickman’s talent, David Bowie’s brilliance, or Carrie Fisher’s iconic status passes, it makes sense that many people remember them and pay tribute. Some talented people are perhaps less known but still deserve a moment to observe their departure. One such actor is Om Puri who died in early January of a heart attack at age 66. Puri is hardly a household name in the United States, but in his native India, he was an incredibly prolific actor who worked in comedy and drama, mainstream and independent film. From the time he began working as a professional actor in the 70s, with very few exceptions, he made at least a film a year, often as many as three or four per year. Of course, not many of his Indian films have made it to America, but he did have roles in several U.S. productions. His most recent Hollywood film was Lasse Hallstrom’s 2014 food fantasy, The Hundred Foot Journey. 

 The film is primarily the story of Hassan Kadam, a culinary wunderkind, who is being groomed by his father, played by Puri, to be the chef in the family restaurant. Tragedy strikes in India, forcing what’s left of the family to relocate to Europe. Their rattletrap van breaks down on the outskirts of a timelessly lovely French village and they are rescued by the most French Frenchwoman I've ever laid eyes on (played by Canadian actor Charlotte Le Bon). Turns out, she's a sous chef at the local classical French restaurant and is lovely and generous and kind and a future love interest for Hassan so obvious she could be spotted from the International Space Station.

Hassan's crafty, wise, cantankerous father decides to open their family restaurant right across the street (one hundred feet to be exact) from the French restaurant run by the beautiful and imperious Mdme. Mallory (Helen Mirren). Being the snootiest woman on the planet, she, of course, is appalled by their food, their music, their customs, and particularly by Papa's hucksterish business tactics. Sabotage, cultural misunderstandings, blossoming romance, and lots and lots of beautiful food footage ensue. It is a cross between foodie wish fulfillment and plain ol' grown-up fantasy.

I'm not always a fan of Lasse Hallstrom's movies. Often, they're nothing more than pretty people in pretty places doing pretty things and never getting a hair out of place or ever moving out of the perfect lighting. The actors always look like J. Crew models, the setting is always quaint and picturesque, and the light is always, always golden. His movies are often like postcards - lovely to look at but not really moving in any real way.

The Hundred Foot Journey, however, rather than cloying, is actually charming, and its power comes from the weapons-grade charisma of its actors, particularly Puri. As you might expect, romance begins to form between his character and Helen Mirren’s Mdme. Mallory. Mirren is one of our most compelling, intelligent, and seductive actors, and yet Puri matches her step for step. One might look at photos of the two actors side by side and find it hard to believe them as a romantic couple, but thanks to the skill and humanity of both actors, their match is absolutely convincing. Rather than relying on a traditional pretty face, Om Puri had a magnetism, a gravity, and a keen, watchful intelligence to his work. He, as much as any other actor in this surprisingly lovely little film, draws you in and enchants viewers and makes the movie as satisfying as a good meal.

True to his work ethic, Puri died while in the middle of shooting a new movie, his eighteenth since completing The Hundred Foot Journey in 2014. He died doing what he loved and what he was clearly good at doing. Even though he’s gone, you can check out The Hundred Foot Journey tonight and feast on his performance again.