Om Puri furious over the usage of Bollywood

Friday, July 06, 2007
If Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri have it their way, the Hindi film industry would soon have to go name hunting for itself. For they insist that Bollywood is not what it should be called.

Speaking at a function at the Nehru Centre in London the two award-winning actors vehemently protested the usage of the term Bollywood saying it is "derogatory and humiliating". The function, titled 'Life and Times in Indian Cinema', was organised by the UK-based film organisation India-EU Film Initiative, to honour them. Lord Meghnad Desai, renowned economist and film buff, honoured Shah and Puri with Roman Atticus trophies.

Criticizing the western media for calling them Bollywood actors, the duo urged the film community to take up the matter. "The term Bollywood was used to mock us by the western press. And it's just an indication of our own idiocy that we still use it," said Shah.

Puri said: "Whenever western people refer to Bollywood, they mean 'Oh those song-and-dance films'. So it is a derogatory term, created by the media." How, how about telling that to our heros and heroines first, who take much pride in showing off Bollywood abroad.