Om Puri

Biography

Om Prakash Puri, OBE (18 October 1950 – 6 January 2017) was an Indian actor who appeared in mainstream commercial Hindi films as well as Bengali, Kannada, English, Punjabi, Gujarati, Telugu, and Marathi films, as well as independent and art films and also starred in several international cinemas.

He is widely regarded as one of the finest actors in world cinema. He won two National Film Awards for Best Actor, two Filmfare Awards, and India's fourth highest civilian award Padma Shri in 1990. In 2004, he was made an honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

He is best known for his author-backed roles in films like Aakrosh (1980), Arohan (1982), Ardh Satya (1983), television films like Sadgati (1981) and Tamas (1987), light-hearted roles in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983) and Chachi 420 (1997) and several mainstream commercial films throughout his career.

He had various collaborations with directors Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalani. Puri also appeared in non-Indian productions in the United States, Pakistan[6], and Britain. In the 1990s, he appeared in My Son the Fanatic (1997) and the comedy-drama East Is East (1999), receiving a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.

Puri's first film was Chor Chor Chhup Ja, a children's film. During this time, to make ends meet he also worked at the Actors' Studio, where future actors such as Gulshan Grover and Anil Kapoor would be his students.

Subsequently, Puri worked in numerous Indian films, as well as many films produced in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Puri made his debut in the mainstream film genre in the 1976 Marathi film Ghashiram Kotwal, based on a Marathi play of the same name by Vijay Tendulkar. It was directed by K. Hariharan and Mani Kaul in cooperation with 16 graduates of the FTII.

He has claimed that he was paid "peanuts" for his best work. Along with Amrish Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, and Smita Patil, he was among the main actors who starred in what was then referred to as art films such as Bhavni Bhavai (1980), Sadgati (1981), Ardh Satya (1982), Mirch Masala (1986) and Dharavi (1992).

In October 2016, Puri appeared for a debate on a news channel regarding a Hindi film producer's ban on Pakistani actors after the Uri attack. During the debate, he made insulting comments about Indian soldiers which led to heavy criticism on social media. However, Puri later apologized for his comments.

On 6 January 2017, Puri died at the age of 66, after having a heart attack at his residence in Andheri, Mumbai. He was honored at the 89th Academy Awards in the memoriam segment for his contribution to world cinema.