Friends, fans bid quiet goodbye to Om Puri

NEW DELHI: On Friday evening, Om Puri faced the spotlight for one last time at the National School of Drama's Abhimanch auditorium. Only the light fell on a black and white photograph wrapped in a garland of red roses and white jasmine.
A bunch of incense sticks burnt quietly.
The theatre wasn't packed. Perhaps it might have been a full house had Om Puri been performing one of the plays that had earned him acclaim as a student in the early 1970s.But that won't happen anymore. The 66-year-old actor, known for his sledgehammer performances in films like Aakrosh and Ardh Satya, passed away on January 6. Those who had gathered to celebrate his life were friends, fellow actors and fans.
Theatre director Bhanu Bharti remembered him as a simple and transparent human being who overcame adversity through sheer grit and dedication to his craft. He recalled that the student-actor initially spoke Hindi with a distinct Punjabi accent. But the accent vanished in no time.
Everyone was surprised at the way the Ambala-born actor fused himself into a major role that was radically different from his own persona in a Yakshagana style play. Similarly, without any knowledge of music or being trained in dance, Om Puri excelled in a Kabuki play. Kabuki is a form of classical Japanese dance drama.
"His performance was a revelation to all of us. We encountered a new Om Puri. You could never feel that the same person had difficulty even speaking Hindi a few months back," said Bharti, who was also the actor's batchmate at NSD.
The actor's compelling voice played a crucial role in his performances. Former NSD director Devendra Raj Ankur, who was the thespian's senior, recalled how the actor used to wake up around 5 am and worked on his voice and speech at Meghdoot Theatre in Rabindra Bhavan.
Om Puri loved eating and would often visit Ankur's home to gorge on parathas. He maintained a steady relationship even after making it big in Mumbai. "He used to call up once every month, often with a request to send him some scripts. He wanted to return to theatre," said Ankur. In 2014, the actor finally walked the talk returning to theatre after over two decades and performing in Teri Amrita, a Punjabi version of Tumhari Amrita with Divya Dutta.
The actor's last call came in late December. "Om said that he was thinking of doing a play with his 19-year-old son Ishaan. Send me some scripts, preferably comedy, he said. The process was on when the news came on Jan 6," said Ankur.
The former NSD director also reminisced how Manohar Singh, who was enacting the title role, and Om Puri had improvised the dialogue after the actor playing the chowkidaar had gone missing during the staging of Tughlaq. "Nobody in the audience could guess that anything was amiss," Ankur remembered.
Among others who spoke on the occasion were theatre person Neelam Mansingh Chowdhury and Waman Kendre, director, NSD.
"I have lost a part of me which will always be empty now," were the last words of NSD batchmate Bhanu Bharti's speech. Many Om Puri fans would be feeling the same.