Om Puri: Lesser known facts

He was Indian cinema's iconic grand old man and worked for over three decades in the entertainment industry. On his birth anniversary today, here are some lesser known facts about Om Puri. The actor made his film debut with Marathi film, 'Ghashiram Kotwal', which was based on a Marathi play by the same name. The film was directed by K. Hariharan. Puri also acted in a Kannada movie, 'A.K. 47' and has also done a few Punjabi movies.

Besides carving a niche for themselves in Bollywood and playing some of the most pivotal roles in Hindi cinema, great friends and actors, Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri bonded over food and loved having dishes like brain curry. According to a report in PTI, Om Puri was quoted saying, "It was Naseer who turned me into a non-vegetarian." Shah and Puri were classmates in the National School of Drama and were friends for more than 40 years. But few know that Puri was a vegetarian when he joined NSD. The veterans have acted together in iconic films like Aakrosh, Droh Kaal, Sparsh, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, Ardh Satya, Paar, Mandi and Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai.

On Anupam Kher's show, the actor had opened up about his life and how a six-year old child washing tea glasses on the roadside went on to become Om Puri. The veteran actor had worked in several Hindi serials too, which made him a popular name on TV. The actor has also featured in the horror series Aahat, in some episodes, while he also hosted another TV show.

It was revealed on Anupam Kher's show that Om Puri had complexity issues. While his friend Naseeruddin came from a convent school background, Om Puri came from a Punjabi Medium school. This caused the veteran actor complexity issues during his stint at the National School of Drama. However, when Om was about to give up, their mentor Qaidi Saheb pushed him to improve his language skills and the seasoned actor went on to feature in numerous Hollywood ventures.

Veteran Indian actor Om 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. According to a report in PTI, Puri, in conversation with award-winning actress and bestselling cookery author Madhur Jaffrey, spoke about his journey in the world of cinema, beginning from his days as a young student at the National School of Drama (NSD) in New Delhi and the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune. He said since he was "not traditionally good looking" he joined the film institute in Pune hoping to enter the Hindi film industry, where being an alumnus of the institute would give him recognition and acceptance. "To get into films, the kind of looks you were supposed to have for the Hindi film industry, we did not have...Fat noses have no place in the Hindi film industry unfortunately," Puri had said then.

In the mid-1990s, Om Puri became known internationally 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. Om Puri shared screen space with veteran British actress Helen Mirren in The Hundred-Foot Journey and compared the Queen star with Smita Patil. According to a report in PTI, while speaking about Helen, Om Puri had shared, "It (film) has senior citizens' love angle which is tender and compassionate. There is no sexuality in it. We also danced together... We did Waltz. I was very nervous as I am not a dancer. But we moved well. She helped me."

On The Anupam Kher show, Naseer didn’t hesitate to reveal how Om Puri was more of a romantic than he likes to show. He further revealed that during their NSD days, Om Puri would bring flowers and sweets for the ladies and charm them. "Guys like Naseer just had to speak fluent English and ladies would be charmed by his words. It was me who had to make all types of efforts and beg for the girls’ attention, " Om Puri had said on the show.