The death of Om Puri at the age of 66 was a great loss to Indian cinema.Both Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah obliterated the difference between art films and films on the commercial circuit. Both trained at the National School of Drama and the Film and Television Institute of India.Om Puri thus combined the requirements of the stage and the demands of cinema showing great talent in both. It was in Ghasiram Kotwal that he rose to fame as a stage actor. But soon he proved his commanding presence on the silver screen. Success followed success-Sadgati by Satyajit Ray, Ardh Satya and Mirch Masala. He represented the spirit of unconventionality which attained phenomenal heights in Akrosh.His drunken outburst of ‘Oye, Dmaollow’ became legendary. He played the role of Joint Commissioner of Police and of a police constable fighting mosquitoes with equal effortlessness.
Om Puri was the first Hindi star to establish himself in international cinema. From the 1990s, he appeared in various British and Hollywood films –from East to East to The 100-Foot Journey. But his role as a rickshaw puller with a dehati English accent in The City of Joy remains etched in memory. He was General Zia with the famous Hollywood actor Tom Hanks. His personal life was somewhat controversial. His second wife, Nandita was very critical of his infidelities and had a biography written of him which was like Catlyn Thomas making Dylan Thomas after his death as an unsavoury character.
