Om Puri

Om Puri
Born	Om Rajesh Puri 18 October 1950 (age 61) Ambala, Haryana, India
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1976 – present
Spouse	Seema Kapoor (1996–2009, divorced) Nandita Puri

Om Puri (Hindi: ओम पुरी born 18 October 1950) is an Indian actor who has appeared in both mainstream Indian films and art films. His credits also include appearances in British and American films. He has received an honorary OBE.

Early life

Puri was born in Ambala, Haryana. He graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India. He is also an alumnus of the 1973 class of National School of Drama where Naseeruddin Shah was a co-student.

Career

Puri has worked in numerous Indian films and in many films produced in the United Kingdom and the United States. He made his film debut in the 1976 film Ghashiram Kotwal, based on a Marathi play of the same name. He has claimed that he was paid "peanuts" for his best work.^[2] He has collaborated with Amrish Puri as well as Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil in art films such as Bhavni Bhavai (1980), Sadgati (1981), Ardh Satya (1982), Mirch Masala (1986) and Dharavi (1992).
He has been active in cinema. He was critically acclaimed for his performances in many unconventional roles such as a victimized tribal in Aakrosh (1980) (a film in which he spoke only during flash-back sequences); Jimmy's manager in Disco Dancer (1982); a police inspector in Ardh Satya (1982), where he revolts against lifelong social, cultural and political persecution and for which he got the National Film Award for Best Actor; the leader of a cell of Sikh militants in Maachis (1996); as a tough cop again in the commercial film Gupt in 1997; and as the courageous father of a martyred soldier in Dhoop (2003).
In 1999, Puri acted in a Kannada movie A.K. 47 as a strict police officer who tries to keep the city safe from the underworld — it became a huge commercial hit. Puri's acting in the movie is very memorable. He has rendered his own voice for the Kannada dialogues. In the same year, he starred in the successful British comedy film East is East, where he played a first-generation Pakistani immigrant in the north of England, struggling to come to terms with his far more westernised children.

Puri had a cameo in the highly acclaimed film Gandhi (1982, directed by Richard Attenborough). In the mid-1990s, he diversified to play character roles in mainstream Hindi cinema, where his roles are more tuned to mass audiences than film critics. He became known internationally by starring in many British films such as My Son the Fanatic (1997), East Is East (1999) and The Parole Officer (2001). He appeared in Hollywood films including City of Joy (1992), opposite Patrick Swayze; Wolf (1994) alongside Jack Nicholson; and The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) opposite Val Kilmer. In 2007, he appeared as General Zia-ul-Haq in Charlie Wilson's War, which stars Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts.
He has worked in Hindi television serials like Kakkaji Kaheen (1988) (roughly meaning "Uncle says") as a paan-chewing 'Kakkaji', which was a parody on politicians, and Mr. Yogi (1989) as a suave 'Sutradhaar' who enjoys pulling the protagonist's leg. These two serials underlined Om Puri's versatility as a comedian. He received critical acclaim for him performance in Govind Nihalani's television film Tamas (1987) based on a Hindi novel of the same name. He essayed comic roles in Hindi films like Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro which reached a cult status, followed by Chachi 420 (1997), Hera Pheri (2000), Chor Machaye Shor (2002) and Malamaal Weekly (2006).
His more recent Hindi film roles include Singh Is Kinng, Mere Baap Pehle Aap and Billu. Puri was seen in the role of Mohammad Ali Kasuri in Road to Sangam (2009). In 2010, he appeared in The Hangman. In 2011 he was in the Indian action movie Don 2.
He has also worked in Aahat TV Series in some episodes during second season which was aired between 2004-2005 on Sony channel.

Controversy

A breach of privilege notice was issued against Om Puri in the Parliament of India for allegedly making derogatory remarks against the politicians during the fast carried out by Anna Hazare for Jan Lokpal Bill at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi in August 2011.

Partial filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1976	Ghashiram Kotwal	Ghashiram
1977	Godhuli
1977	Tabbaliyu Neenade Magane (Kannada)
1977	Bhumika
1978	Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan	Marxist man
1980	Aakrosh	Lahanya Bhiku	Won, Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award
1982	Gandhi	Nahari
1982	Chan Pardesi(Punjabi)	Munshi
1982	Arohan (film)	Hari Mondal	Won, National Film Award for Best Actor
1983	Ardh Satya	Anant Velankar	Won, National Film Award for Best Actor
1983	Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron	Ahuja
1983	Long Da Lishkara(Punjabi)	Dittu
1984	The Jewel in the Crown	Mr De Souza	TV series
1985	Mirch Masala
1985	Aghaat		Director-Govind Nihalani
1988	Ek hi Maqsad	Dr. Ram Kumar Verma
1990	Ghayal	ACP Joe Dsouza	Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor
1991	Sam & Me	Chetan Parikh
1991	Narsimha	Suraj Narayan Singh 'Baapji'
1992	Maya Memsaab		adaptation of Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary
1992	City of Joy	Hazari Pal	adaptation of Dominique Lapierre's novel
1993	In Custody	Deven
1994	Wolf	Dr. Vijay Alezias
1994	Drohkaal
1996	The Ghost and the Darkness	Abdullah
1996	Maachis	Sanatan	Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor
1997	My Son The Fanatic	Parvez
1997	Aastha	Amar
1997	Gupt: The Hidden Truth	Inspector Udham Singh	Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor
1998	Such a Long Journey	Ghulam Mohamed
1998	Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha	Inspector Khan	Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor
1998	Vinashak – Destroyer	Inspector Khan
1999	East Is East	George Khan
1999	A.K.47 (Kannada)	Commissioner Yashwant Sinha
2000	Hey Ram	Goel
2000	Kunwara
2000	Hera Pheri	Khadak Singh
2001	The Mystic Masseur	Ramlogan
2001	Gadar: Ek Prem Katha	Narrator
2001	The Parole Officer	George
2002	Awara Paagal Deewana
2002	Dhruva (Kannada movie)	Co-starred with Darshan(actor)
2002	Chor Machaye Shor
2002	White Teeth	Samad	adaptation of White Teeth by Zadie Smith
2003	Code 46	Bahkland
2003	Maqbool	Inspector Pandit
2004	Aan: Men at Work	Police commissioner Khurana
2004	Lakshya	Subedar Maj. Pritam Singh
2004	Yuva	Prosonjit Bhatacharya
2004	Dev	Special Commissioner Tejinder Khosla
2005	The Hangman	Shiva
2005	Mumbai Xpress	ACP S.P. Rao
2006	Rang De Basanti	Amanullah Khan, father of Aslam
2006	Malamaal Weekly	Balwant 'Balu'
2006	Chup Chup Ke	Prabhat Singh Chauhan
2006	Don: The Chase Begins Again	CBI Officer Vishal Malik
2007	Fool & Final	father of Rahul/Raja
2008	Charlie Wilson's War	Mohammed Zia, president of Pakistan
2008	Billu
2009	London Dreams	Arjun's uncle
2009	Kurbaan	Bhaijaan
2010	Khap	Sarpanch of the village
2010	Dabangg	Police Inspector
2010	Action Replayy	Rai Bhahadur
2010	West Is West	George Khan
2011	Don 2: The King is Back	CBI Officer Vishal Malik
2011	Teen Thay Bhai	Chixie Gill
2012	Agneepath	Additional Commissioner Gaitonde
2012	Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya	Chowdhary
2012	Chakravyuh	Govind Suryavanshi	Filming.
2012	Chaar Din Ki Chandni	Fatoor Singh

Awards and nominations

Wins

• 1981: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Aakrosh
• 1982: National Film Award for Best Actor for Arohan
• 1984: National Film Award for Best Actor for Ardh Satya
• 1984: Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Best Actor for Ardh Satya
• 1998: Brussels International Film Festival Best Actor for My Son the Fantastic
• 1990: Padmashri, India's fourth highest civilian award
• 1998: Grand Prix Special des Amériques Montréal World Film Festival for exceptional contribution to the cinematographic art
• 2004: Honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to The British Film Industry
• 2009: Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award

Nominations

• 1990: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Ghayal
• 1997: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Maachis
• 1998: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Gupt: The Hidden Truth
• 1999: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha
• 2000: BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for East Is East