Om Puri
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Om Puri OBE |
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Puri at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival
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| Born |
Om Prakesh Puri 18 October 1950 Ambala, Punjab, India (now in Haryana) |
| Died | 6 January 2017 (aged 66) Mumbai, India |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Education | National School of Drama |
| Alma mater | Film and Television Institute of India |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1972–2017 |
| Spouse(s) | Seema Kapoor (1991–1991) Nandita Puri (1993–2013) |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | Padma Shri |
Om Prakesh Puri OBE (18 October 1950 – 6 January 2017) was an Indian actor who appeared 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. Puri also appeared in non-Indian productions in the United States and Britain.
Puri was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India, in 1990; and in 2004, was made an honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
Om Puri was born in Ambala in a Punjabi family. His father worked on the railways and in the Indian Army. 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.
Puri came from an underprivileged background. When he was six years old, 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. 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. He and his brother's children were later brought up by a maid servant.
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