Om Puri facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Om Puri OBE
Puri at 2010 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	Om Prakash Puri (1950-10-18)18 October 1950 Ambala, East Punjab, India
Died	6 January 2017(2017-01-06) (aged 66) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Alma mater	FTII NSD
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1972–2017
Spouse(s)	Seema Kapoor ​ ​ (m. 1991; div. 1991)​ Nandita Puri ​ (m. 1993)​
Children	1
Honours	Padma Shri (1990) OBE (2004)

Om Prakash Puri (18 October 1950 – 6 January 2017) was a famous Indian actor. He starred in many different kinds of movies, including popular Hindi films, as well as films in Bengali, Kannada, English, Punjabi, and Telugu languages. He also appeared in independent and art films, and several international movies.

Many people think he was one of the best actors in Indian cinema. He won two National Film Awards for Best Actor and two Filmfare Awards. In 1990, he received the Padma Shri, which is India's fourth highest award for civilians. In 2004, he was given an honorary Order of the British Empire award.

Om Puri was well-known for his strong roles in films like Aakrosh (1980) and Ardh Satya (1983). He also played funny characters in movies such as Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983) and Chachi 420 (1997). He worked often with directors Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalani. Puri also acted in films made in the United States, Pakistan, and Britain. In the 1990s, he was in My Son the Fanatic (1997) and the comedy East Is East (1999). For East Is East, he was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actor.

Early Life and Education

Om Puri was born into a Punjabi Hindu family in Ambala, India. His father, Tek Chand Puri, worked for the railways and in the Indian Army. Om Puri's family wasn't sure of his exact birth date because they didn't have a birth certificate. His mother said he was born two days after the Hindu festival Dussehra. Later, when he started school, his uncle chose 9 March 1950 as his official birthday. As an adult, Puri found out when Dussehra was in 1950 and decided his birth date was 18 October.

Puri grew up in a family that faced many challenges. When he was six, his father had difficulties at work, and the family became homeless. To help, Puri's brother, Ved Prakash Puri, worked as a coolie (a person who carries luggage). Om Puri also worked at a local tea shop, did small jobs, and collected coal from railway tracks to support his family. He and his brother's children were later cared for by a maid named Shanti.

Even while working, Puri kept studying. After his early schooling, he joined the National School of Drama in Delhi to learn acting for the stage. His friend Naseeruddin Shah, who was also a student there, encouraged Puri to join him at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune. Puri later shared that his family was so poor that he didn't even have a good shirt when he first joined FTII.

Acting Career Highlights

Om Puri's very first film was Chor Chor Chhup ja, a movie for children. At that time, he also taught acting at the Actors' Studio to earn money. Some of his future students included famous actors like Gulshan Grover and Anil Kapoor.

After that, Puri acted in many Indian films, as well as movies made in the United Kingdom and the United States.

He made his debut in mainstream films in 1976 with the Marathi film Ghashiram Kotwal. This movie was based on a famous play. Puri often said he was paid very little for some of his best work. He was a key actor in what were called "art films" alongside stars like Amrish Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, and Smita Patil. Some of these films include Bhavni Bhavai (1980), Sadgati (1981), and Ardh Satya (1982).

He was praised for his roles in many different types of films. He played a tribal victim in Aakrosh (1980) and a police inspector in Ardh Satya (1982), for which he won a National Film Award. He also played a tough cop in Gupt (1997) and a brave father in Dhoop (2003).

In 1999, Puri acted in the Kannada film A.K. 47, playing a strict police officer. This film was a big success. In the same year, he starred in the British comedy-drama East Is East. In this film, he played a Pakistani immigrant in England who struggled to understand his more Westernized children.

Puri in 2009

Puri also had a small but important role in the highly acclaimed film Gandhi (1982), directed by Richard Attenborough. In the mid-1990s, he started taking on more character roles in popular Hindi films. He became known around the world by appearing in many British films like My Son the Fanatic (1997) and The Parole Officer (2001). He also acted in Hollywood films such as City of Joy (1992) with Patrick Swayze, Wolf (1994) with Jack Nicholson, and The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) with Val Kilmer. In 2007, he played General Zia-ul-Haq in Charlie Wilson's War, which starred Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts.

He also worked in Hindi television shows. He played a funny character called 'Kakkaji' in Kakkaji Kaheen (1988), which made fun of politicians. He also appeared in Mr. Yogi (1989) as a clever storyteller. These shows proved he was also a talented comedian. He was highly praised for his role in Govind Nihalani's TV film Tamas (1988). He continued to play comic roles in films like Hera Pheri (2000) and Malamaal Weekly (2006). He often worked in films directed by Priyadarshan and Kamal Haasan.

Some of his other important roles in popular Hindi films include Ghayal, Hey Ram, Gadar, Lakshya, Rang De Basanti, Singh Is Kinng, Dabangg, and Bajrangi Bhaijaan. In 2014, he starred with Helen Mirren in the comedy-drama The Hundred-Foot Journey. At the time of his death in January 2017, he was working on a Marathi film. Several of his completed films, like Viceroy's House and Tubelight, were released after he passed away.

Personal Life

Om Puri married director and writer Seema Kapoor in 1991, but their marriage ended after eight months.

In 1993, he married journalist Nandita Puri. They had a son named Ishaan. In 2009, Nandita wrote a book about her husband called Unlikely Hero: The Story of Om Puri. Om Puri said he was upset that the book included too many personal details about his past relationships. In 2013, they decided to live separately.

His second wife shared that their home was "secular," meaning they respected all religions. She also said that while Om Puri wasn't very strict about religious rituals, he didn't mind if others were. He found comfort in spiritual books, especially those by the teacher Eknath Easwaran. Puri didn't often take politics too seriously. He enjoyed relaxing by cooking or gardening. In an interview in 2012, he talked about his love for farming and cooking. He even said his dream was to open a small restaurant called Daal Roti.

Death

Om Puri passed away on 6 January 2017, at the age of 66. He had a heart attack at his home in Andheri, Mumbai. He was honored at the 89th Academy Awards during a special segment that remembered people who had made important contributions to world cinema.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and Recognitions

Civilian Awards

• 1990: Padma Shri – This is India's fourth highest award for civilians.

Film Awards

Other Honours

• 1998: Grand Prix Special des Amériques at the Montreal World Film Festival for his amazing contributions to cinema.
• 2004: Honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his work in the British Film Industry.