Somy Ali, who now runs a US-based NGO called No More Tears, took to Instagram to share a throwback from her 1997 film Chupp, which featured legendary actors Om Puri and Jeetendra. Reminiscing about the project, she revealed that despite the film’s “dreadful script,” it remains one of her most memorable shoots because of the experiences she had with her co-stars. “Oh boy! This #tbt has way too many fun stories in spite of it being a dreadful script. It’s a remake of Kakaji’s film, Itefaq. So how could I not want to do it. It was an art film meaning no songs and dances! Yippee!!!!” she wrote. Recalling her interactions with the late Om Puri, Somy shared, “The late Mr. Om Puri ji right before rocking me back & forth on that chair and being oh so cruel to me was telling how to cook the best biryani and I was literally jotting down the recipe.”
She also remembered her challenging scene in a yellow sari: “My climbing down in a yellow sari while I had and have vertigo was nothing short of an Oscar deserving performance. I was scared to death, but refused a body double. Yay! Me!”
Talking about Jeetendra, Somy said she had to learn to drive a manual car just before shooting, which led to some tense but funny moments. “Then there was the phenomenal Jeetu ji and was scared each time he sat in my own car used in the movie as I had to learn to drive a stick shift literally a week ago by a friend for the film. I was used to driving an automatic having come from the U.S. Jeetu ji kept trying to calm me down and tell me when to shift the gears. It was quite a rocky road (pun intended). I know he was more scared of my driving than I was scared of getting in a crash with Jeetu ji. Crazy times!”
She also praised actor Avinash, calling him “one of the most brilliant and natural actors” she had worked with. Somy fondly remembered the kindness of all three actors: “Jeetu ji would sit me down and give me life advice. Many a time right before ‘action.’ Om ji was cracking jokes throughout the film and kept asking me if he was too harsh while pulling my hair or hurting me. And I kept saying no to an extent where we would burst out into laughter in the middle of a shot where he’s dragging me up the stairs. I will never ever forget working with these amazing people. They were not only kind, but genuinely asked how I was doing each shoot day and they weren’t just exchanging pleasantries.”
