One of our finest actors, and a great actor of his generation, is no more. Om Puri has suffered a heart attack today on 6th January 2017. He was 66 years old. An alumnus of the National School of Drama (NSD), Om Puri, studied at the time when Ebrahim Alkazi was the director at the NSD. He was in the 1973 batch along with fellow student Naseeruddin Shah. He was also an alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).
He left an indelible mark in Indian cinema with films like ‘Ardh Satya’, ‘Bhavai’, ‘Mirch Masala’, ‘Aakrosh’, ‘Mandi’, ‘Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron’, among others. He worked in British-Asian cinema, Pakistani films and in Hollywood too. He was a recipient of several prestigious awards, and was awarded an honorary OBE for his contribution to the British film industry. Puri was generally acknowledged as a versatile actor with a strong presence.
A few years ago, he returned to the stage in a Punjabi version of the play LOVE LETTERS by AR Gurney, which was staged at the NCPA Centrestage festival.