Mumbai, Jan 6, 2017: Veteran Bollywood actor Om Puri passed away early Friday morning in Mumbai.
Puri, 66, died from cardiac arrest, close friend and actor Anupam Kher told Reuters.
Born on October 18, 1950, the actor made his film debut in the 1976 film Ghashiram Kotwal. He was known for his performances in Indian, as well as Pakistani and Hollywood movies.
A versatile artist, Puri became a key player in India’s arthouse cinema scene in the 1980s and 1990s but achieved international fame for his roles in Hollywood films such as City of Joy, Wolf, and Charlie Wilson’s War.
Puri was also awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire). He was given the Padma Shri in 1990 for his contribution to cinema. Among Puri’s well known films were Aakrosh (1980), Ardh Satya (1982) for which he won the National Award for Best Actor, and British film East is East (1999).
Puri made a name for himself in the 1980s with the alternative art cinema that found a niche audience in India, playing several memorable characters that depicted the anger and angst of those times.
He also worked in a number of Hollywood and British films, including “The Reluctant Fundamentalist“, “East is East“, and most recently in “The Hundred-Foot Journey“.
In October last year, a police complaint was filed against the veteran actor for his comments that were found to be insulting to Indian soldiers by a section of the film industry. Complainant Prithvi Maske said, “Referring to the Indian Army and soldiers, he [Om Puri] said that we had not given the invitation to the soldiers of the Indian Army. They joined the army at their will.” During a debate on a TV channel, Puri had said: “Did we force them to join the army? My father was also in the army… We are proud of them (soldiers)… I am asking you: Do you want India and Pakistan to become Israel and Palestine?
The actor’s fans and loved ones took to Twitter to express grief.
Seeing him lying on his bed looking so calm can’t believe that one of our greatest actors #OmPuri is no more. Deeply saddened & shocked.
— Anupam Kher (@AnupamPkher) January 6, 2017
Solid actor….Solid filmography….immense talent…. #RIPOmPuri ….cinema has truly lost a brilliant artist….
— Karan Johar (@karanjohar) January 6, 2017
#Om Puri a legend is no more. Rip Om Puri ji.
— Ashish Arora (@ashton2379) January 6, 2017
I got a shock when I heard this news RIP #Om Puri
— Priyanka Patel (@pryankapatel) January 6, 2017
#Om puri is no more is Ardhsatya. He will be in us forever….RIP Puri Sahab
— SACHIN PATIL (@DadhichiSACHIN) January 6, 2017
So sad that 😨😱, our legend hero’s dead. #Om puri😥
— Kartik singh-krox (@KroxKartik) January 6, 2017
#Om Puri appeared in mainstream Hindi, Pakistani, British as well as Hollywood cinema. He made his film debut with the Marathi film, Ghashiram Kotwal, which was based on a Marathi play of the same name. It was directed by K. Hariharan. Puri also acted in a Kannada movie, A.K. 47.He also featured in some Punjabi movies.
#Late Om Puri was very close to Naseeruddin Shah. They were classmates in the National School of Drama. Very few people know that Puri was a vegetarian when he joined the school but turned non-vegetarian because of Naseer. If there was something other than cinema that they loved discussing, then it was food. Puri used to love having brain curry with Naseer.
#Puri revealed on Anupam Kher’s show that he had complexity issued. His friend Naseeruddin had studied from a convent school, while he came from a Punjabi Medium school. This caused Om to have complexity issues during his early years in NSD. However, he schooled himself and later went on to do more than 20 English movies.
#His unconventional looks also added to his complexity. He thought he was not good looking enough to become an actor and hence he joined Film and Television Institute of India in Pune just to enter the Hindi film industry. “To get into films, the kind of looks you were supposed to have for the Hindi film industry, we did not have…Fat noses have no place in the Hindi film industry unfortunately,” Puri said. However, he later went on to become one of the finest actors of his times.
#Much ahead of Priyanka Chopra, Aishwarya Rai and Deepika Padukone, Om Puri registered his name in International cinema. In the mid-1990s, Om Puri starred in many British films such as My Son The Fanatic, East Is East and The Parole Officer. He also appeared in Hollywood films including City Of Joy opposite Patrick Swayze; Wolf alongside Jack Nicholson and The Ghost and the Darkness opposite Val Kilmer. He also shared screen space with veteran British actress Helen Mirren in The Hundred-Foot Journey.
His demise has come as a big shock for the entire nation. Our condolences to his entire family. #RIPOmPuri. You’ll be missed. Always..
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(This story has not been edited by BDC staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed from IANS.)
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