Om Puri with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts

Om Puri has been chosen to play Pakistan's former military ruler, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, in a Hollywood movie regarding the CIA's role in arming Mujahideen rebels in Afghanistan.

Puri enjoyed a stint in Hollywood earlier starring in several Hollywood productions in the past, including "Gandhi", "City of Joy", "East is East" and "The Ghost and The Darkness" in a career spanning about 30 years.

The veteran Indian actor told Reuters that he had been cast in Universal Pictures' "Charlie Wilson's War" alongside Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. The film is based on the book that bears the same title. The plot revolves around Charlie Wilson, a wheeling and dealing Texas Congressman, played by Hanks. In the story Wilson teams up with an arrogant CIA agent to manipulate the U.S. Congress, the CIA and a host of foreign governments in a secret operation. "The film discusses the entire political scenario of the time," 56-year-old Puri told Reuters. "I appear as a well-settled Pakistani President who strikes a deal with the Americans that money and arms to the Afghans must flow through his country," said Puri, adding that he adored the character of Zia.

Pakistani president Zia ruled from 1977, when he gained power in a bloodless military coup, until 1988 when he died in a plane crash. The President is said to have provided U.S.-backed military aid to the Afghan resistance against the Soviet occupation.

"Charlie Wilson's War" is directed by Mike Nichols, who made "The Birdcage" and "Closer". Julia Roberts is reportedly playing the character of Wilson's aide. The movie is scheduled for a 2007 release. Puri said he is anxious to work with Hanks and Roberts in locations such as Morocco later this month. "Most of my scenes are with them. I expect to have a wonderful time with them as they are very talented professionals," he said.

Source: All Headline News