Om Puri

54 Year old actor Om Puri was born on 18 Oct, 1950 in Ambala, Haryana state of India. He is o ne of the finest actors Indian film industry ever produced. Talk about diversity and unforgettable performances no one comes even close. He is equally at home playing a typical Bollywood blockbuster role or in art films. Few actors in Indian cinema have attained such an international recognition.
Om Puri with a gorgeous voice and powerful screen presence is a NSD and FTII graduate. In the beginning of his career in the 1970s his name was more recognised with India's art cinema. He worked in Ghasiram Kotwal, Bhumika, Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan, Sparsh and Saanch Ko Aanch Nahin in the 1970s. In 1980 he worked in Govind Nihalani’s Aakrosh and 1983 Ardh Satya brought him instant fame. Aside from working with accredited directors such as Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalani and Ketan Mehta, he worked with the best in Bengal like Satyajit Ray's Sadgati, Mrinal Sen's Genesis and Utpalendu Chakraborty's Chokh and Debshishu.
In 1992 Om Puri got to play a role in Roland Joffé's City of Joy. His performance in this movie was a turning point in his career. India's art cinema went into slumps so it was a good break for Om Puri to get into international cinema. Starring in films like Gandhi, East is East, My Son the Fanatic has earned him increasing recognition among western audience and it also shows his versatility as an actor.
He has also done commendable roles in Television series. In 1984 he played the role of Mr. De Souza in TV series, Jewel in the Crown. In 1986 he worked in Govind Nihalani's famous TV series, Tamas based upon Bhisham Sahni's novel. In 1988 he worked in Shyam Benegal's TV Serial Bharat Ek Khoj, based on Jawahar Lal Nehru's book Discover India.
Om Puri handles the comic character roles with great ease. Hera Pheri, Dulhan Hum Le jayenge are some of the worth mentioning movies.
Forthcoming Films
Untitled movie - Directed by Priyadarshan. Cast: Om Puri, Kareena Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor, Isha Sharvani, Neha Dhupia, Sunil Shetty and Paresh Rawal.
Is Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon - Directed by Rahul Rawail. Cast: Om Puri, John Abraham and Akanksha Malhotra.
Malamaal Weekly - Directed by Priyadarshan. Cast: Om Puri, Ritesh Deshmukh, Shakti Kapoor and Paresh Rawal.
Deewane Huye Pagal - Directed by Vikram Bhatt. Cast: Om Puri, Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Shahid Kapoor, Rimi Sen, Paresh Rawal and Johnny Lever.
Baabul - Directed by Ravi Chopra. Cast: Om Puri, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Rani Mukherjee, Salman Khan, John Abraham and Rajpal Yadav.
Kyon Ki - Directed by Priyadarshan. Cast: Om Puri, Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Rimi Sen and Jackie Shroff.
AK-47 Directed by Raam Shetty. Cast: Om Puri, Audhitya Singh, Sheetal Bhavishi, Ashish Vidyarthi, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Shivaji Satam and Reema Lagoo.
Rang De Basanti of Rakesh Mehra will be made by Aamir Khan. Cast: Om Puri, Aamir Khan, Arjun Rampal, Atul Kulkarni and Kunal Kapoor. To be made in Eglish and Hindi and scheduled to be released in 2005.
Recent Events
Om Puri was given Officer of the Order of the British Empire, OBE (Honorary) in 2004 for services to The British Film Industry.
Recent Films
2005 The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey
2005 Mumbai Express
2005 Kisna: The Warrior Poet
2005 Amar Joshi Shahid Ho Gaya
2004 King of Bollywood
2004 Kyun! Ho Gaya Na
2004 Lakshya
2004 Dev
2004 Aan
2004 Yuva
2003 Kagaar
2003 Dhoop
2003 Chupke Se
2003 Maqbool
2003 Kash... Aap Hamare Hote
2002 Pitaah
2001 Farz
2000 Hera Pheri
Memorable Performances
Aakrosh (1980) - Directed by Govind Nihalani. A tribal, Lahanya Bhiku is implicated for the murder of his wife after she is raped and killed by men of power.
Aarohan (1982) - Directed by Shyam Benegal. A poor West Bengal sharecropper Hari Mondal in a legal battle with an absentee landlord
Ardh Satya (1983) - Directed by Govind Nihalani. A Mumbai policeman, Anant Welankar, frustrated by a corrupt and hopelessly compromised system.
Susman (1986) - Directed by Shyam Benegal. Ramulu, an Andhra silk weaver struggling for survival whose craftsmanship is threatened by mass production.
Narasimha (1991) – Directed by N. Chandra. Plays a sinister gang lord.
City of Joy (1992) Director Roland Joffe. A Kolkata rickshaw puller, Hasari Pal, forms a bonding with a US doctor who left his practice and came to India.
My Son the Fanatic (1998) Directed by Udayan Prasad. Pervez, an expatriate Pakistani cabbie in a grimy English city grappling with his son’s active participation in the functioning of a fundamentalist Islamic sect.
East is East (1999) - Directed by Damien O’Donnell. George Khan, a Pakistani fish-and-chips shop owner in the UK married to a native Briton.

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