Om Puri would have been 75 in October. We look back at his early years through these 16 pictures from his life.
'One is not allowed to smoke on the sets of a Hollywood film even during a break.' 'When I asked an assistant to suggest some place where I could light a cigarette, he recommended the bad boys' corner -- where Jack Nicholson smoked.' 'However, I hesitated.' 'But when I was heading back to my chair after the shot, Jack Nicholson asked me if I wanted to join him for a smoke. We had a long conversation over cups of cappuccino.'
Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar on Friday paid his tribute to Bollywood actor Om Puri, who died this morning after suffering a cardiac arrest at the age of 66. Taking to Twitter to express his grief, the master blaster said that Om Puri would always live in their hearts through the impressions he has left with his versatility. "You will live in our hearts forever through the impressions you have left with your versatility. We will miss you. RIP #OmPuri," Tendulkar wrote on Twitter.
Indians took to social media to pay their respects.
The veteran actor is presented with the British award.
Veteran actor Om Puri has been appointed as the chairman of the National Films Division Corporation. He will formally take charge on April 23, after holding a press conference.
Veteran actor Om Puri was at the receiving end of hatred and trolled on Twitter when he ended up insulting Indian martyrs while defending why art and such issues shouldn't be mixed.
Veteran Bollywood actor Om Puri, who drew flak for his controversial comments against parliamentarians, landed himself in another row by calling Naxals "fighters not terrorists".
Here's looking at Om Puri's career graph, through these pictures from his films.
Members in both Houses of Parliament have given Privilege notices against actor Om Puri and civil rights activist Kiran Bedi for using "derogatory and defamatory" language against politicians and the matter is under consideration of the Chair.
The film's New York premiere was a star studded affair.
In an interview with CNN-IBN, actor Om Puri explains the controversial statements he made against politicians at Ramlila Maidan, while expressing his support for activist Anna Hazare.
Among the finest Indian actors, voices and smiles to grace the stage and screen, Om Puri's uniqueness, always so fluid and natural, cannot be summed up in a few words, feels Sukanya Verma.
The actor has been named an honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his outstanding contribution to cinema.
Bollywood pays their respects to the veteran actor.
Despite the judicial separation, Om Puri will have unlimited access to their son Ishaan.
Om Puri, notes Arthur J Pais/Rediff.com, has given one of the most endearing performances of his career in producers Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey and director Lasse Hallstrom's new film, The Hundred-Foot Journey
Om Puri looks back at the days of shooting City Of Joy with the star, who died on Monday.
'If it weren't for Om Puri, a whole range of our big city experiences wouldn't have found their honest representations on the screen.'
Om Puri's friends remember him.
"The actor was arrested after he surrendered before the police and later granted bail on a bond of Rs 10,000," Senior Inspector Harishchandra Parmale of Versova police station told PTI.
'I just love the man. Not only he's a fantastic actor with a presence in whatever he does, but he's also a very soulful, gregarious, generous man with the biggest heart in the business.' Director Lasse Hallstrom tells Aseem Chhabra/Rediff.com about the joys of working with Om Puri on The Hundred-Foot Journey.
Nandita Puri clears the air about her biography on Om Puri, Unlikely Hero.
He had no airs about his talent, he did not intellectualise it, he just lived and breathed acting.
'I belonged to the working class, not the middle class.' 'I was a rag-picker. I used to pick up coal from the railway tracks.' 'I was rejected from the FTII, as I was very unkempt and skinny.' 'I did not look like a hero, villain or comedian.' 'But Girish Karnad and Jairaj said I should be taken based on merit, not looks.'
The actor asserts that he is the victim in his domestic strife.
Om Puri's closest friends open up about the veteran actor.
At the launch of his biography Unlikely Hero, Om Puri got quite emotional as he remembered the people in his life. And what a life it has been. From a rag-picker to an actor of such fine caliber, Puri has lived a full life. He tells us about his biography - written by his wife Nandita Puri -- and also the controversy that accompanied it.
Om Puri lashes out at media, may take legal action.
'In our film industry, there are not many opportunities for actors... Our films are not character based, they are hero and heroine based. The only roles we have for character actors are to play the girl's or boy's dad or a police officer...'
'In our film industry, there are not many opportunities for actors... Our films are not character based, they are hero and heroine based. The only roles we have for character actors are to play the girl's or boy's dad or a police officer...' 'Now at my age -- I am 64 now -- there are hardly any parts. In the West, you could play a central character even at my age. But these kinds of films are not made in India.'
Rajkumar Santoshi's best films prove that few Bollywood filmmakers could mix hard-hitting drama, action, comedy and sheer masala madness quite like him.
As Riteish Deshmukh turns director again with Raja Shivaji, we look at past actors who stepped behind the camera and delivered some of Hindi cinema's most memorable films.
From Lakshya to Shershaah, revisit 10 Hindi films and shows that captured the courage, sacrifice and emotional cost of the 1999 Kargil War.
'On the set, he was this big personality, the great Om Puri. But at home, he was like a fluffy teddy bear.'
