When veteran actor Om Puri died of a massive heart attack on January 6 this year, the world mourned the loss of a powerful artist, a person who could do both intense and comic roles with much finesse. He was known for his impeccable dialogue delivery, screen presence, and nuanced acting.
As today, October 18, would have been his 68th birth anniversary, lets look at some of the lesser-known facts about the celebrated actor.
1. At the age of six, Puri was washing glasses at a dhaba. Who knew he would go on to become the famous actor that we know him as today?
2. With no birth certificate or record, his family was unsure about the date and year of birth, however, his mother had told him that he was born two days after Dussehra. When Om Puri began his schooling, his uncle chose March 9, 1950, as his official birthday. However, when Puri moved to Mumbai, he changed his date of birth to October 18, 1950, after looking at the 1950 calendar and when Dussehra was celebrated that year.
3. Puri tried his hand at various regional films as well. He made his film debut with the Marathi film, Ghashiram Kotwal, which was based on a Marathi play of the same name. The film was directed by K Hariharan. Puri also acted in a Kannada movie, AK 47 and has also done a few Punjabi movies.
4. His close friend was Naseeruddin Shah. Shah and Puri were classmates at the National School of Drama and had been friends for more than 40 years at the time of Puri's death. Om Puri reportedly said, "It was Naseer who turned me into a non-vegetarian." They had acted together in films such as Aakrosh, Droh Kaal, Sparsh and Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron.
5. On an episode of Anupam Kher's TV show, it was revealed that Puri had various complexity issues, as his friend Naseeruddin came from a convent-school background, and Puri was from a Punjabi-medium school. When he was about to give up, their mentor Qaidi Saheb pushed him to improve his language skills and today he has done more than 20 movies in English.
6. In the mid-1990s, Puri forayed into the international sphere, by starring in many British films such as My Son The Fanatic, East Is East and The Parole Officer.He 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.
7. Puri was honoured by a renowned museum for his contribution to cinema through a special tribute that showcased clips from some of his finest films and highlighted the actor's journey from a theatre student to one of the most prominent actors in the world.
8. Puri used to say that he was an introvert, and took time to open up. He also got cold feet while talking to women. During his NSD days, he would get them flowers and chocolates to impress them. He said in one of his interviews that he had to go out of the way and do these things because he couldn't impress them with his words.