Om Prakesh Puri OBE (18 October 1950 – 6 January 2017) was an Indian actor who appeared mainly in mainstream commercial Indian films, as well as independent and art films. He is best-known for his author-backed roles in films like Aakrosh (1980), Arohan (1982) and television films like Sadgati (1981) and Tamas (1987) and also light-hearted roles in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983) and Chachi 420 (1997). He had various collaborations with director Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalani.[1] Puri also appeared in non-Indian productions in US and Britain.[2]
Puri was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India, in 1990;[3] and in 2004, was made an honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire.[4]
Contents [hide]
1 Early life
2 Career
3 Personal life
4 Death
5 Selected filmography
6 Awards and nominations
7 References
8 External links
Early life
Om Puri was born in Ambala in a Punjabi family. His father worked in the railways and in the Indian Army.[5] As he had no birth certificate or records, his family was unsure of his date and year of birth, however his mother told him he had been born two days after the Hindu festival Dussehra. When he began his schooling, his uncle chose 9 March 1950 as his "official" birthday, however as an adult when he moved to Bombay, Puri looked up when Dussehra was celebrated in 1950, to establish his date of birth as 18 October.[6]
Puri came from an underprivileged background. When he was six years ago, his father who was a railway employee was put behind bars on allegatons of theft of cement. This resulted in their family becoming homeless. To make ends meet, Puri's brother worked as a coolie (railway porter) and Puri worked in a local tea shop.[7] Thereafter, to help support his family, he had to start working at the young age of seven. He did odd jobs, worked at a neighbourhood dhaba (street side food stall), a tea stall and would bring coal from near railways tracks to support his family.[8] He and his brother's children were later brought up by a maid servant.[9]
While working, Puri continued to study. After his primary education, he joined the National School of Drama in Pune. In an interview with the Times of India, Puri later recounted that they were so poor that he did not have a decent shirt to wear when he joined FTII. He was rescued by another student Naseeruddin Shah, thus serving as a commencement for a long friendship with the fellow actor.[9] An alumnus of the 1973 class of National School of Drama where he studied theatre acting, Puri thereafter began to seek active roles in theater and in films.[10] Naseeruddin Shah was a fellow student, who encouraged Puri to follow him to the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune. According to Shah, Puri was disappointed by his education at FTII, and also was unable to pay tuition fees—when he became well-known, the institute followed up the debt of Rs 280, which Puri refused to pay due to the "impish thrill" of owing them money.
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