In Pictures: Film Fraternity Comes Together To Bid Adieu To Om Puri

Friends and family of Om Puri from all over the world mourned the loss of the veteran actor who passed away after suffering a heart attack in Mumbai on Friday.

Puri, who was known for his versatile acting and a distinct, powerful voice excelled in parallel cinema also made his own mark in commercial cinema.

As the news of Puri’s demise broke on Twitter, relatives and friends from all over made their way to his Andheri residence to pay their respects and attend his funeral.

The body of the actor, who found dead at his residence in the morning due to cardiac attack, had been taken to the Cooper hospital for post mortem and later in the afternoon brought back to his residence for his family, relatives and admirers to pay their last respects.

Veterans of the film industry including actor Shashi Kapoor, Gulzar, Amitabh Bachchan, Pankaj Kapoor, Anupam Kher and others reached at Puri’s residence to see him one final time.

Om Puri, with his powerful character roles in movies like Ardh Satya, Aakrosh, Maachis, Narsimha and even the internationally acclaimed Gandhi by Richard Attenborough, established himself on the film canvas as an actor with many shades.

His close friend, colleague and co-actor in several projects Anupam Kher too recalls his time with Om Puri. Speaking to HT on Friday, Kher said, “As comfortable as he was with working with Shyam Benegal, he was equally comfortable working with someone like David Dhawan.”

Puri played a cameo in Richard Attenborough’s highly acclaimed film Gandhi (1982). He barely had a 90-second screen time in the film, but said in an interview years later that it had a great impact on his career.

Thanks to his film choices from commercial as well as parallel cinema, Om Puri shared screen with most other famous actors of his time as well of the present active era in Indian cinema. With Amitabh Bachchan, the actor shared screen in the 2004 movie Dev.

While showing his acting prowess before the camera, Puri also honoured the theatre stage during his career and even acted in a number of TV series.

In a career spanning more than three decades, Puri had won a slew of national awards and international fame for his work in several critically acclaimed films. He was honoured with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest award in India and two National Film Awards. He was made an honorary officer of the Order of the British Empire for his contribution to British cinema in 2004.

Born in Ambala, Haryana, to a Punjabi family on October 18, 1950, the actor studied at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune. He was also an alumnus of the 1973 class of the National School of Drama (NSD), where Naseeruddin Shah was a fellow student.

The last rites were carried out by his son Ishaan in the presence of his estranged wife Nandita Puri and close friends Ashoke Pandit and Anupam Kher as well as iconic filmmakers like Ketan Mehta, Prakash Jha, and Govind Nihlani.

The legendary actor, who featured in more than 100 films, made a name for himself across the globe.

The last rites started around 6.45 pm and were conducted by Puri’s son Ishaan at the Oshiwara crematorium.

And last but not the least his fans, who made their way to his residence to see his one last glance.

In the last interview to IANS, the veteran actor said, “My contribution as an actor will be visible once I leave this world and the young generation, especially film students will watch my films.”