Om Puri
Name: Om Puri
Birthday: 18th October, 1948
Zodiac: Libra
Marital Status: Was married to Seema Kapoor (1996-2009). The couple got divorced in 2009. He is now married to Nandita Puri.
Awards:
1) Best Supporting Actor (Filmfare) – 1981 (Aakrosh)
2) Best Actor (National Film Award) – 1982 (Arohan)
3) Best Actor (National Film Award) – 1984 (Ardh Satya)
4) Best Actor(Karlovy Vary International Film Festival) – 1984
5) Best Actor(Brussels International Film Festival) – 1988
6) Grand Prix Special des Amériques (Montreal World Film Festival) – 1998
7) Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009
8) PadmaShri, the fourth highest Civilian Award in India.
Trivia: He is the finest example of Bollywood’s exemplary artistic and cinematic skills. Om Puri has received several International Awards for his acting. He is mainly known for his work in art films than in mainstream cinema. In 2004, he has received for his impressive service to British films, an Honorary Officer of the British Empire.
Biography: He was born in Ambala. He graduated from FTII, Pune (Film and Television Institute of India). He also studied in the National School of Drama with Nasseruddin Shah in the year, 1973. He had worked vastly in theatre circles, before he made his debut with the 1976 film, “Ghashiram Kotwal”. He has always had an inclination towards art films. Collaborating with some of the finest actors of Hindi films like Nasseruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Amrish Puri, Kulbhushan, he has worked on a multitude of brilliant films like Bhavni Bhavai, Aakrosh, Ardh Satya, Sadgati, Dharavi, Arohan, Mirch Masala and so on. These are epic movies which any film student of India would have definitely studied and got motivated by.
Most of his work has earned him rave reviews and much critical acclaim. He has been active in cinema since the 80s and was noted for his unconventional ideas and roles. From playing a subdued, oppressed and victimized tribal man in “Aakrosh” to playing a police officer in “Ardh Satya” to playing a militant in “Maachis”, Puri is knowing for the variety of his roles, his utmost versatile performances and the freshness of acting he renders in each of the parts he plays. Invariably, he is one of the finest actors Indian Cinema has ever had.
He has also worked in British comedy film, “East is East”. Puri is often remembered for his cameo in Richard Attenborough’s, Oscar Winning Film “Gandhi” which brought him much into the notice at the international cinema front. He has also acted in many Hollywood films, doing cameos and stints.
He has done many mainstream Hindi movies as well which has often won much accolades but he is man of a genre much different and wider than Bollywood.
He is known for working on good roles, characters which are off beat. Not once can someone mention Puri playing something mundane and regular. He has worked in Indian Television too. The satire on Indian politicians, “Kakkaji Kaheen” saw him playing Kakkaji. He worked on Govind Nihalani’s Television film “Tamas”, based on legendary Bhishma Sahni’s novel of the same name.
