Mumbai: Renowned actor Prem Chopra, who gained fame in Bollywood for playing negative roles in iconic films like Do Raaste, Prem Nagar, and Bobby, recently revealed the reason for not delivering English dialogues in his first Hollywood film.
The 88-year-old actor, known for his unique portrayal of negative characters in films, has made a mark in the Hollywood film industry alongside actors like Nasiruddin Shah, Irrfan Khan, Anupam Kher, Anil Kapoor, and many other Indian actors.
In 2012, he played an American-born Indian character in the film “Heartland” where he made sure that not a single line was spoken in English by his character.
In a recent interview, Prem Chopra explained that his first Hollywood film was a Punjabi-English film and most of the dialogues were in English, but he had refused to speak English to the director.
Revealing the reason behind his decision, he shared that his son-in-law lives in America and had sent an English girl for him to approve for his daughter’s marriage. Upon seeing her, he had thoughts about allowing his son to marry a girl from a community known for mistreating Indians like animals.
Prem Chopra further expressed that they used to speak in English language at the army (British) friend’s house. Due to them, I lost my best friend and they did not handle his last rituals with dignity. At that time, I decided I would not speak this language (English). Nonetheless, I said to the girl, that the environment you grew up in, seeing that, you are eligible for marriage.
Having portrayed pivotal roles in over 400 films, Prem Chopra’s latest film is Ranbir Kapoor’s blockbuster “Animal” in which he portrayed the role of a patriarch from the hero’s family.