Om Puri: A life in pictures

Here we look at the actor's journey through a series of rare photographs

Veteran Bollywood actor Om Puri, 66, passed away early Friday morning in Mumbai after suffering cardiac arrest.

Born on October 18, 1950, the actor made his film debut in the 1976 film Ghashiram Kotwal. He was known for his performances in Indian, as well as Pakistani and Hollywood movies.

A versatile artist, Puri became a key player in India’s arthouse cinema scene in the 1980s and 1990s but achieved international fame for his roles in Hollywood films such as City of Joy, Wolf, and Charlie Wilson’s War. Puri was also awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire). He was given the Padma Shri in 1990 for his contribution to cinema. Among Puri’s well known films were Aakrosh (1980), Ardh Satya (1982) for which he won the National Award for Best Actor, and British film East is East (1999).

Puri made a name for himself in the 1980s with the alternative art cinema that found a niche audience in India and here we pay tribute to Om Puri through a series of pictures captured throughout his life.

Actor Om Puri in film Ardh Satya.

Om Puri and Supriya Pathak in Bahu Ki Awaaz.

A head shot of actor Om Puri.

Om Puri in character on set.

Om Puri stands alongside others from the industry at an award ceremony.

Actor Javed Jaffrey, Saira Bano and Om Puri.

Om Puri in a scene from Kirdar.

Another shot of Om Puri in Kirdar.

Actor Om Puri being felicitated by Rajesh Khanna.

Director Shashi Lal Nair, Om Puri and others on the set of film Bahu Ki Awaaz.

Film star Anuradha Patel and Om Puri in film Pathar.

Actor Kanwaljit Singh and Om Puri in TV serial Aahat. PHOTO: INDIAN EXPRESS ARCHIVES

Actor Om Puri and Sadashiv Amrapurkar.

Film star Kamal Hassan, Anup Jalota and Om Puri.

Om Puri with Revathi. PHOTO: INDIAN EXPRESS ARCHIVES

Actor Om Puri in character.

Om Puri, Fardeen Khan, Anupam Kher, Urmila Matondkar and others on the set of film Om Jai Jagdish.

Film star Om Puri and Director Pradeep Maini on the set of Miss India-the Mystery.

Director Dinkar Chowdhury briefing Om Puri on the set of film Akanksha.

Film star Om Puri and director Yash Chopra.

Film star Anupam Kher, Abhishek Bachchan and Om Puri on the set of film Om Jai Jagdish.

Actor Om Puri during a shoot.

Film Director Shyam Benegal and Om Puri.

PHOTO: REUTERS

All images used belong to The Indian Express photo archives