Showing posts with label Nandita Puri. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nandita Puri. Show all posts
Imagine, somebody of Om Puri's stature doing chores for the crew-Seema Kapoor
8:01 AM
Om Puri’s first wife, Seema Kapoor, talks about working with him on her directorial venture, and the void he’s left behind
Anju Maskeri (MID-DAY; January 22, 2017)
While narrating the script of her upcoming film Kabadiwala to the cast in June last year, Seema Kapoor recalls a comment actor Om Puri made at the end of the session. “The protagonist in the film is a kabadiwala’s (junk dealer’s) son, who manages the community toilets in the village. But, he goes around telling everyone that he owns a restaurant chain. When Puri ji heard the narration, all he said was, ‘Seema, film hai toh badbu pe, par ismein se khushboo aa rahi hai (although the film is about stench, I can smell fragrance in it)’,” says Seema, actor Annu Kapoor’s sister, who married Om Puri in 1991. Their marriage lasted less than a year — Puri then married journalist Nandita Puri. But, 38 years on Seema and Om still maintained a more than cordial relationship.
Seema, in fact, was one of the last people the veteran star called before his death. On the evening of January 5, when she was in the editing studio, he called up to know where she picked up grain for the birds she fed every day. That was her last conversation with him. And, the film, which the duo was working on, was Puri’s last.
On January 6, the star was found dead at his Lokhandwala Oakland Park residence. Puri, who was believed to be in good health and had returned from work, a day prior, was reported to have died of a fatal heart attack while alone at home. Kapoor is still grieving. She pauses frequently to fight back tears. For the last seven years, she was Puri’s constant companion.
“While we were shooting in Lucknow, Puri ji personally went around making all the hotel arrangements for the crew. He even coordinated with the caterers and ordered food for all of us. He would jokingly add, ‘Put my name in the line producer credits.’ Imagine, somebody of his stature doing chores for the crew. Sometimes I wonder why he was doing so much. But that’s who he was,” she adds.
It’s this sense of humility, she feels, that endeared Puri to all. Although the duo had worked together on two documentaries earlier, this was their first feature together. Puri was supposed to play the ‘sutradhar’ or the narrator in the film. Incidentally, the Uri debacle had taken place when the actor was in Lucknow shooting for Kapoor’s film. Puri, at that point of time, was part of a televised debate about the IMPPA’s (Indian Motion Pictures Producers’ Association) indefinite ban on Pakistani artistes from working in Indian projects. The ban was in response to the killing of 19 Indian soldiers in a terror attack at Uri, Jammu and Kashmir on September 18. During the debate, Puri lost his cool and said, “Who had asked the soldiers to join the army? Who told them to pick the weapons?” This statement led to Puri being vilified for being callous. A police complaint was filed against him at the Andheri police station for being insensitive towards the soldiers who lost their lives for the country.
“When he returned, I said to him, ‘Ek sentence galat nikal gaya’, and that one line proved costly. He, of course, did not mean it. He just did not how to phrase things correctly,” she says. Puri plunged into depression after that. Kapoor recalls how that night Puri did not turn up for the shoot, but stayed back in his room. “He kept saying, that he’s done so much in his life, but that one line is all people choose to remember. He was devastated. All the channels and people on social media were vilifying him. His apologies went unheard in that,” she says.
In their 38-year-long association, Kapoor had seen several upheavals in their relationship. Towards the end of 1991, Puri confessed that another woman (Nandita Puri) had come into his life and he wanted a divorce. She silently gave her consent, but chose not to go public even after she got divorced. “Both of us maintained our dignity and respect. Neither he nor I ever badmouthed each another. We have seen the worse times, had the most bitter fights with each other, but never washed dirty linen in public,” she reveals.
She feels it’s the sense of implicit trust that made them surmount all obstacles and be other’s confidantes through the years. “When you love somebody, you love them in totality. And for me, he was my companion in good and bad times. It’s a void that will never be filled.”
Om Puri and Seema Kapoor (centre) in her hometown, Jhalawar, in 1980
The night before death: 'Om Puri's spirit was shattered by his family and friends'
3:28 PM
Close associate reveals how Om Puri had found it impossible to recover from family betrayal (wife Nandita in her book) and public humiliation (on Arnab Goswami's show) over his heartfelt statements
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; January 11, 2017)
To those who knew him, the downslide for Om Puri started some time ago, when his outspokenness invited a backlash he had never imagined and never recovered from. Smita Singh, who had recently been brought on board for his 'image correction', tells mid-day about how, in the days before he died, Puri poured his heart out on everything that was troubling him.
"Over the last few weeks, he wouldn't stop saying 'Jab main chala jaunga, tab duniya ko meri value hogi…' He never got over the public humiliation on Arnab Goswami's show. His pride was bruised, more so, because of his army lineage. He was never the same after that night. He publicly admitted that he had said those words ("Did we force them to join the army?..."), but that wasn't all what he said. The nature of news in this country, especially in the Twitter age, is such that only a part of the statement is shown to the world. Yes, he apologised. We started talking about that show. He was telling us how he went to Etawah (UP) to meet the parents of Nitin Kumar, the soldier martyred in the Baramullah attacks. He hosted a hawan at their home and gave them a huge sum of money. When he apologised to the family, Kumar's father had said, "Omji, insaan uttejna mein bohot cheezein bol jata hai. Aapko afsos hai aur humein aapse koi shikwe nahin hai." That was solace for him, to a certain extent, till the media made a mockery of that as well. He was patriotic. After that episode, he wanted to start his own political party, called Insaniyat, but could never muster strength for it. His spirit was shattered."
Losing a friend
Singh also talked about how a fallout with his best friend stung him. "That evening, we even got to know how he fell out with his best friend, who had been with him through college and drama school. After he spoke out against Aamir Khan’s intolerance statement vociferously, his dearest friend sent him a text message saying, "F*** you!" That was that between them. He made multiple attempts to reconcile, but never got a reply," she said.
Wife's betrayal
Personally, too, his life was turbulent. The evening before he passed away, he talked about how his wife (Nandita Puri) had made a public joke of him (after she published his biography that had some salacious details about his life). "He was doing his best to move on. He was vulnerable that evening, gurgling down pegs of whiskey like he did every day, but he had the haunted look of a broken man. The producer of his next film (Rambhajan Zindabad) Khalid Kidwai offered to drop him to his friend, Manoj Pahwa's, house," she said.
His estranged wife Nandita tells us, "We were supposed to go for Pankaj Kapur's daughter, Sana, and Pahwa's son, Mayank's engagement ceremony. Om called me and by the time we got there, he reached my house. He went up to my mom and said, "Kya budhia, kyun sadd rahi hai yahan. Tu bhi mere saath swarg chal." He was in high spirits. He called me again and said, "Tum aur Ishaan jaldi aa jao." I told him we'd see him later. When he called me again, I told him, "It's too late; we’ll see you tomorrow." Ishaan and I still regret not seeing him that day. Ishaan was going to be with him on January 8, 9 and 10 for the shooting of 'Tubelight', and they were to head to Khandala from there,” says Nandita.
Nandita adds, "We were not divorced and are still legally married. We had a separation. Trishul is his home and my marital home. By the Hindu law, he was allowed one wife. It can be an ex-wife and a current wife. Om had only one wife. He helped his nephews and strangers, but now when his son needs him, he is gone. I’ll miss him terribly because he is a habit. I have spent the longest part of my life with him more than my son or my parents."
Waited for son
Manoj told us, "He came for barely 15 minutes and left soon after. I don’t know where he was headed." Khalid drove him down to Nandita’s house, but by the time they reached, Ishaan was already at the party. "Omji didn’t want to go back to the party and asked Ishaan to return home. But, when Ishaan didn’t come for a bit, we left. I dropped him home," said Khalid.
Buddhism beckoned
Singh said Buddhism and its values had immensely influenced Om in his last days. "He wanted to take a 15-day trip to Lumbini (Nepal), the birthplace of the Buddha. He was scheduled to be there for 15 days later this month," Smita said.
Om Puri and I forged a karmic connection instantly-Seema Kapoor
7:55 AM
Om Puri’s first wife, Seema Kapoor, walks us through a love story that began in 1981 and would’ve culminated in Jhalawar had it not been for the actor’s untimely death
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 12, 2017)
Their first meeting was in August 1979, when Seema Kapoor was just 19, a first year student at the Aligarh Muslim University. It was her first visit to Mumbai with her director brother, Ranjit Kapoor, her bhabhi, and their daughter. Karan Razdan came to receive them at the station and drove them straight to Prithvi theatre where rehearsals for the play, Bichoo, were on. Spotting the two ladies, Om Puri who was on stage, announced with a theatrical flourish, “Disha aa gayi hai aur sharmati hui koi aur bhi unke saath aayi hain....” His words made the shy, reserved teenager blush. “We instantly forged a karmic connection,” she says. It would, despite all the turmoil, last a lifetime.
“All my brother’s friends I addressed as bhai or bhaisaab, but he was always Puri saab for me, never Om bhai, and I was happy that on rakshabandhan he got only one rakhi for me to tie around my brother’s wrist,” Seema reminisces 38 years later, looking at the garlanded photograph of her former husband in her living room, still finding it hard to believe that the man she’s loved all her life is no more.
He was equally enamoured by her, so much so that he ensured she missed her 9pm train to Bhawani Mandi, deliberately turning up late with her ticket. After packing off her brother and his family to Delhi the next morning, he whisked her off on a Mumbai darshan, Jaidev Hattangadi driving a scooter, Om sitting behind him and Seema riding in the sidecar.
That evening, when it was
time for her train to leave, they both burst into tears. Then, for
almost a year, they didn’t meet till Seema bumped into Om in Delhi when
down to visit her brother. The day she was leaving, Om offered to drop
her to the bus stand. While bidding her goodbye, he boldly shook her
hand and slipped a piece of paper in her palm. Seema, disconcerted by
the touch of his hand, agonised over what she believed was a love letter
all through the two-hour journey back, wondering how she was going to
broach the subject of love and marriage with a struggling actor 10 years
older than her with her parents. It wasn’t till she had reached Aligarh
that she discovered that what she believed was a love letter was
actually twenty rupees note.After completing her studies, she moved to Delhi and took a room where Om would visit her. Occasionally, she let him stay the night. Once, when he was taking a bus to Ludhiana, he borrowed Rs 20 from her, which he never returned. Today, the mention of a twenty rupees note has her tearing up. “I never wanted his money or his property. He was my property,” Seema says emotionally.
Simply dressed in a churidar-kurta, she is a picture of grace, dignity and reserve. It’s hard to imagine that this small town, conservative girl became a krantikari, taking Om home to Jhalawar and introducing him to her family and friends as her ‘boyfriend’ back in the ’80s. “When Puri saab was around, I wasn’t scared of anything or anyone,” admits Seema who never spoke about marriage to him. It was Om’s father who wanted them to tie the knot, not happy with some of his new friends.
“Bauji loved me like his daughter and in 1989, he’d turn up at my brother’s (Annu Kapoor) home every morning at 5 am urging him to ask me to marry Puri saab. Finally, Annu bhai asked Puri saab to stop bauji. He then landed up in Jhalawar with bauji, asking my mother for my hand. My father had passed away just six months ago and she was hesitant but Puri saab insisted we get engaged. It was all so sudden, we couldn’t even inform Annu bhai and he was really upset,” she flashbacks.
They tied the knot on February 28, 1990, but didn’t live happily ever after. Towards the end of 1991, Om confessed that another woman (Nandita Puri) had come into his life and he wanted a divorce. She quietly consented and went away, deaf to all those who insisted that he should be punished for leaving her.
Another woman might have moved on but for Seema her Puri saab was the only man she’s ever loved. And when he returned to her, asking for forgiveness, wanting to spend his old age with her, she couldn’t turn him away.
For the last seven years she was his constant companion, the first person he saw when he gained consciousness after a surgery last year. Like a child, he demanded tea, then food, getting his driver, Mishraji, to film a video of her feeding him seven rotis on his cell phone which he’d show friends. She wishes she had at least that video to remember him by.
For six years Om was engaged in a legal battle with his second wife Nandita and last year they went for a legal separation. Seema offered solace in the midst of the storm, taking him to Bodh Gaya and introducing him to Buddha’s positive vibrations that left both of them crying and disciplining him on diet and exercise. He reciprocated by surprising her one afternoon with a meal of dal, sabzi and rotis he had made himself in 30 minutes, after he’d invited himself over for lunch when she was away at work and the cook hadn’t turned up.
She admits the last year-and-a-half was difficult for him and he was drinking heavily. “He’s been taking depression pills for the last 12-13 years and this coupled with the alcohol had taken a toll on his health,” reveals Seema, shocked by his appearance after he returned from a schedule in Manali and she from her shoot in Lucknow. “I was upset with him for drinking so much and I told him he should only come back to me after he had quit liquor. He called me that evening and told me he wanted to say something in Hindi,” she recalls, adding with a laugh that her Hindi has always been good and helped him improve his own. “Prayashchit, pashchataap and sandhi… Sandhi kar lein? I told him sandhi referred to war and peace treaty. I had no jhagdha with him. I just wanted what was good for him.” She admits they argued frequently but the ‘jhagdas’ were short-lived, ending after a night’s sleep and with a laugh. This time too, she couldn’t stay angry with him for long.
On the evening of January 5, when she was in the editing studio, he called several times. When she took the call he wanted to know where she picked up grain for the birds she fed every day. “He’d loved watching the birds with me,” she muses, looking at a sparrow peck on his feeding bowl. As if on cue, the garland around his photograph slips and Seema says, “See, he’s listening to everything I’m saying.”
She goes on to reveal that he was planning to file for divorce on January 16 with the intention of closing his chapter with Nandita. After that he wanted to spend time with Sema at her mother’s home in Jhalawar. He loved going back to the former princely state he’d first visited with her in 1981, where he was a jamai babu, jiju and bhaiya to everyone and not a movie star. “He visited frequently in the last seven years. Whenever there, he’d go shopping every morning and buy so many vegetables that we had to distribute them among four families. He had developed an interest in gardening. We were looking forward to spending our last years there,” sighs Seema, happy that she could bid him goodbye with a chautha at a gurdwara. “He was happiest in a gurdwara. He had taken me to Amritsar twice and Patiala once, I felt his presence there,” she says. After the 13-day ritual she’s planning to go home to Jhalawar but this time without him.
Om Puri gets two prayer meetings organized by his wives on the same day, same time
7:50 AM
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 10, 2017)
Two days after Om Puri's
sudden demise at the age of 66 following a heart attack, both his former
spouses organised chauthas on the same day and around the same time.
While Nandita chose Juhu's Iskcon Temple and started around 4:30 pm,
Seema's prayer meet was hosted at the Gurudwara in Four Bungalows,
beginning just 15 minutes earlier. Only Shabana Azmi, Anup Jalota, Govind
Nihalani, Mita Vashisht and Ashoke Pandit were present at both venues.Jackie Shroff, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Divya Dutta and Karanvir Bohra were spotted at the Gurudwara while Randhir Kapoor, Tanve Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak, Sidharth Roy Kapur, Shyam Benegal, Vipul Shah, Amole Gupte, Pankaj Kapur and Supriya Pathak were present at the temple. The Bachchans, Amitabh, Abhishek and Aishwarya, were at Iskcon too. Om Puri forayed into cinema in the 1970s with some of the most definitive films of the time. Unfortunately, his troubled personal life took precedence over his exemplary work with reports of a fall-out with his second wife, former journalist Nandita Puri, over a tell-all book, and a rumoured reconciliation with his ex-wife Seema Kapoor, after their 1991 divorce.
“If the timings were different, it would have been easier to reach both the places. I share a rapport with both Seema and Nandita so I had to go. They could've organised it together but that didn't work out,“ informs singer Anup Jalota who has produced Puri's soon-to-release satirical comedy, Mr Kabbadi, which, incidentally, has been directed by Seema Kapoor and features her brother, Annu Kapoor, actress Sarika, and Vinay Pathak.
Jaspinder Narula points out that Puri was lucky to have his chautha in both a gurdwara and a mandir. “Whoever loved and admired Om ji can organise a prayer meet for him so why not his wives?“ she retorted.
Shabana Azmi played the saviour at Om Puri’s funeral?
1:58 PM
Kept his two wives away from each other to avoid any unpleasantness
Subhash K Jha (DNA; January 8, 2017)
On Friday, friends, specially Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi rushed to Om Puri’s home after hearing of his death. Sources close to the tragedy say Shabana was the pillar of strength to Om’s bereaved family.
They were the perfect co-stars. Om Puri and Shabana were together in monumental classics of our times including Roland Joffe’s City Of Joy, Shyam Benegal’s Susman and Sudhir Mishra’s Dharavi. And now, on his death she proved a perfect friend by managing a sensitive situation when both of Om Puri’s wives showed up at his home on his death.
Says a friend of Om, “Shabana made sure that there was no unpleasantness. She personally guided Seemaji inside to see Om’s body when Seemaji arrived, thereby avoiding all awkwardness in the situation.”
Says Shabana, “I did what was the need of the hour. It was only fair that both Nandita and Seema be treated with respect at the venue of the tragedy after Om’s death. Both women conducted themselves with great dignity.”
Shabana can’t get over the suddenness of the tragedy. “I did 14 films with Om and am deeply, deeply saddened by his death.”
Industry colleagues fondly remember Om Puri and his achievements
7:24 PM
BT reached out to two of Om Puri’s colleagues who recently worked with him
Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; January 7, 2017)
Indian cinema has lost one
of its finest actors with the untimely demise of Om Puri on Friday
morning. The veteran actor, 66, died following a massive heart attack at
his Andheri residence. The news of his demise has come as a terrible
shock to many of his industry friends, who had met him at an engagement
party on Thursday night. In fact, Puri's estranged wife Nandita was also
present at the event. Talking to BT, she said, “Om and I had attended
an engagement do last night, and he returned to his flat after that.
This morning I got a call saying he was found slumped and inert in the
kitchen. Our son Ishaan, 18, is beside himself with grief.“
While the actor never let anything come in the way of his work, for his immediate family at least, his failing health was always a concern. Just two weeks ago, Nandita had told a journalist how Puri's life might be at stake because of his drinking. Her worst fears turned true yesterday morning. The actor was also reportedly suffering from depression and had sought psychiatric help for it.
KUNDAN SHAH
I never went past our
professional equation, but he was extremely friendly. He knew the art of getting into the skin of the character effortlessly. I remember he played a crass filmmaker in Bollywood
South Indian filmmaker in Bollywood Calling. Towards the end of the
film, you'll love that character. He made every role so believable. He
stayed miles away from caricaturing, which is the easier way of playing a
character. Fifteen days before we started shooting for Jaane Bhi Do
Yaaro, I had run out of actors. Om came on board. In the Mahabharat
scene, he decided to wear the goggles and enter the stage. I can't
believe I let him do that.
NAWAZUDDIN SIDDIQUI
I spoke to Om saab two days ago on the phone. We were about to shoot a scene for Nandita Das' Manto. He told me, “Beta saath mein kaam karenge.“ We were looking forward to it post our stint in Bajrangi Bhaijaan. I don't think he remembered that I worked with him in the late 1990s in a television serial called Sea Hawks, which also had R Madhavan in it. I was young at that time. We had done an episode together. Omji loved cinema and would not mind talking about it no matter what time of the day it is. We often spoke of our days in NSD. He was from the batch of 1973 and I was from the batch of 1996. We had common professors that we spoke about.
KABIR KHAN
I can't think straight right now. We were shooting
till a few days ago. And he seemed extremely hail and hearty. I still
remember taking my first film, Kabul Express, to him. He turned it down
because he had an issue with his back. Eventually, he agreed to do a
five-minute cameo in Bajrangi Bhaijaan. And in those five minutes, the
man left a mark. He played his part so well that it stood out in the
entire film. This time, in Tubelight, he had a lengthy role. He's shot
most of it and right now, if you ask me, I don't
know what and how will the part shape up. Frankly, that's not even the
point. The industry has lost one of its warmest and finest actors who
could slip into any role. Once the camera was off, he'd laugh and joke
with everyone. He had the warmest hugs to offer. I didn't know the one I
got a few days ago, would be the last of his kind.
SUDHIR MISHRA
Puri saab was a stalwart from whenever I can remember. He's a star who showed the way forward to so many people with unconventional faces. An entire generation of actors came into being because of him. He inspired me. I was in class 11 when I heard of this acting stalwart from National School of Drama. I watched some of his plays then and was blown away. He became a legend in cinema because of the kind of work he could pull off. There's not one kind of role that he hasn't played. Ardh Satya's theatrical run is unbelievable. He made films like Dharavi and Tamas possible. He gave these films so much depth. People like him don't perform a scene to draw attention to themselves. They just perform. You automatically will notice them. It's unreal how he could be so angry and fiery on screen when he was such a jovial person in real.
MAHESH BHATT
I was hurled back into the times before Arth was
even made. Om and I'd spend nights together, drinking and talking about
movies, art and life. His performance in Aakrosh left the industry
shell-shocked. Ardh Satya took it a few notches higher from there. And
then, the narrative moved from strength to strength. Om broke the
construct that you need to be a certain personality type to be an actor,
and then, to be a lead actor. That was quite an achievement. The old
ideas, with every passing film of his, were deconstructed. His personal
life, over the years, went through a crisis. Alcoholism had been
overpowering
his life. He had lost control over his life. I must say that his intense
eyes and passionate thoughts play on my mind as I bid farewell to a
beloved friend.
AMOL PALEKAR
My friendship with Om Puri dates back donkey's years. We were young men, I was older than him. We were theatre actors. I watched his performance at a festival in Kolkata in a play called Udhwasth Dharamshala. I was enamoured to put it modestly. That's where our friendship began. We worked together in Bhoomika where he barely had screen time. But we had some great interactions when I directed him in Dum Kata. We were together for almost a month. Everyday, after work, we'd set up our little adda and have discussions about everything under the sun. I remember, there was a book being written on him. He brought the writer to my house and stayed over for a few days. That's the last time I probably spent that much time with him.
SHABANA AZMI
It's too shocking. It was a night before he died that Shyam babu (Shyam
Benegal) and I were talking about him. I even met him recently and every
thing seemed okay. And all of a sudden, one morning, when I wake up,
it's over. Om, my friend, my colleague of decades and a dear part of our lives, is no more. Even if I try hard, I wouldn't be able to isolate one memory or one incident involving us.
Everything that we've done together, every moment that we've shared together as colleagues and friends, is special to me.
PRAKASH JHA
While it goes without saying that Om Puri was a brilliant actor, what was most amazing about him was that he was easy. He seemed to be so effortless and yet was so effective in any role he played. Most of it, he was a good soul, which him a good actor. While working with him on Mrityudand, I used to be so impressed with his focus, on the set. He was always giving space to the other actors.
SAI PARANJPYE
Apart from being a great actor, Om was one of the dearest and closest friends I had in the industry. To talk about him in the past tense is already so difficult. It was such a joy working with him. I directed him in Sparsh. I had also directed him in Begaar, a telefilm. He would go to any length to play his part. He was supposed to attend my book launch. I had to stop him because he had made a controversial statement about the jawaans. I wish I hadn't stopped him from attending the do.
KETAN MEHTA
Om and I started our journey together, even before we joined films. We were in the Film Institute together. Along with Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil, Om belonged to the new wave of cinema in the 1970s. When we did our first film, Bhavni Bhavai in Gujarati, together we were just out of the institute. Even then, he had a reputation as a great actor, having done incredible work in theatre. Om, Naseer, Shabana and Smita worked on the film without charging a fee. During the shoot, he would write his lines for the next day. When those chits would be found, the joke went around that Om doesn't have to learn his lines he just has to put the chits under his pillow and the lines are in his head the next morning.
SUNIEL SHETTY
He was my friend on screen, and even off screen. I've spent so much time on so many movies with him that it's unbeliev able he's no more. I don't know what I'd tell his son Ishaan when I meet him, those are difficult conversations. It was Om who introduced me to some quaint eateries near my farmhouse. At work, his timing was difficult to match. He played his characters so well, you'd actually begin to feel it's not Om Puri you're standing with.
BOMAN IRANI
The first time I ever met Om Puri, or had a sight of him, was at the premiere of Kalyug. I was a teenager who had sneaked in. There were stalwarts walking in the room and then, there was this lanky man standing with Shyam Benegal. I saw him in the film. He stood out in a bit role. Then, I met him formally at Locarno Film Festival where his film and mine were being screened. By that time, Aakrosh and Ardh Satya had already been ingrained in my head. He encouraged me a lot. And several times after that, we would end up chatting about work. Very often, we'd meet at corridors before entering a venue. I remember, we were shooting for Don and Don 2 in Kuala Lumpur and Germany respectively. On both occasions, we'd spend nights in his room, confabulating. He'd never bring his seniority or any other air on the set.
With inputs by Hiren Kotwani and Renuka Vyavahare
While the actor never let anything come in the way of his work, for his immediate family at least, his failing health was always a concern. Just two weeks ago, Nandita had told a journalist how Puri's life might be at stake because of his drinking. Her worst fears turned true yesterday morning. The actor was also reportedly suffering from depression and had sought psychiatric help for it.
KUNDAN SHAH
I never went past our
professional equation, but he was extremely friendly. He knew the art of getting into the skin of the character effortlessly. I remember he played a crass filmmaker in Bollywood
South Indian filmmaker in Bollywood Calling. Towards the end of the
film, you'll love that character. He made every role so believable. He
stayed miles away from caricaturing, which is the easier way of playing a
character. Fifteen days before we started shooting for Jaane Bhi Do
Yaaro, I had run out of actors. Om came on board. In the Mahabharat
scene, he decided to wear the goggles and enter the stage. I can't
believe I let him do that. NAWAZUDDIN SIDDIQUII spoke to Om saab two days ago on the phone. We were about to shoot a scene for Nandita Das' Manto. He told me, “Beta saath mein kaam karenge.“ We were looking forward to it post our stint in Bajrangi Bhaijaan. I don't think he remembered that I worked with him in the late 1990s in a television serial called Sea Hawks, which also had R Madhavan in it. I was young at that time. We had done an episode together. Omji loved cinema and would not mind talking about it no matter what time of the day it is. We often spoke of our days in NSD. He was from the batch of 1973 and I was from the batch of 1996. We had common professors that we spoke about.
KABIR KHAN
I can't think straight right now. We were shooting
till a few days ago. And he seemed extremely hail and hearty. I still
remember taking my first film, Kabul Express, to him. He turned it down
because he had an issue with his back. Eventually, he agreed to do a
five-minute cameo in Bajrangi Bhaijaan. And in those five minutes, the
man left a mark. He played his part so well that it stood out in the
entire film. This time, in Tubelight, he had a lengthy role. He's shot
most of it and right now, if you ask me, I don't
know what and how will the part shape up. Frankly, that's not even the
point. The industry has lost one of its warmest and finest actors who
could slip into any role. Once the camera was off, he'd laugh and joke
with everyone. He had the warmest hugs to offer. I didn't know the one I
got a few days ago, would be the last of his kind. SUDHIR MISHRAPuri saab was a stalwart from whenever I can remember. He's a star who showed the way forward to so many people with unconventional faces. An entire generation of actors came into being because of him. He inspired me. I was in class 11 when I heard of this acting stalwart from National School of Drama. I watched some of his plays then and was blown away. He became a legend in cinema because of the kind of work he could pull off. There's not one kind of role that he hasn't played. Ardh Satya's theatrical run is unbelievable. He made films like Dharavi and Tamas possible. He gave these films so much depth. People like him don't perform a scene to draw attention to themselves. They just perform. You automatically will notice them. It's unreal how he could be so angry and fiery on screen when he was such a jovial person in real.
MAHESH BHATT
I was hurled back into the times before Arth was
even made. Om and I'd spend nights together, drinking and talking about
movies, art and life. His performance in Aakrosh left the industry
shell-shocked. Ardh Satya took it a few notches higher from there. And
then, the narrative moved from strength to strength. Om broke the
construct that you need to be a certain personality type to be an actor,
and then, to be a lead actor. That was quite an achievement. The old
ideas, with every passing film of his, were deconstructed. His personal
life, over the years, went through a crisis. Alcoholism had been
overpowering
his life. He had lost control over his life. I must say that his intense
eyes and passionate thoughts play on my mind as I bid farewell to a
beloved friend. AMOL PALEKARMy friendship with Om Puri dates back donkey's years. We were young men, I was older than him. We were theatre actors. I watched his performance at a festival in Kolkata in a play called Udhwasth Dharamshala. I was enamoured to put it modestly. That's where our friendship began. We worked together in Bhoomika where he barely had screen time. But we had some great interactions when I directed him in Dum Kata. We were together for almost a month. Everyday, after work, we'd set up our little adda and have discussions about everything under the sun. I remember, there was a book being written on him. He brought the writer to my house and stayed over for a few days. That's the last time I probably spent that much time with him.
SHABANA AZMI
It's too shocking. It was a night before he died that Shyam babu (Shyam
Benegal) and I were talking about him. I even met him recently and every
thing seemed okay. And all of a sudden, one morning, when I wake up,
it's over. Om, my friend, my colleague of decades and a dear part of our lives, is no more. Even if I try hard, I wouldn't be able to isolate one memory or one incident involving us.
Everything that we've done together, every moment that we've shared together as colleagues and friends, is special to me.PRAKASH JHAWhile it goes without saying that Om Puri was a brilliant actor, what was most amazing about him was that he was easy. He seemed to be so effortless and yet was so effective in any role he played. Most of it, he was a good soul, which him a good actor. While working with him on Mrityudand, I used to be so impressed with his focus, on the set. He was always giving space to the other actors.
SAI PARANJPYEApart from being a great actor, Om was one of the dearest and closest friends I had in the industry. To talk about him in the past tense is already so difficult. It was such a joy working with him. I directed him in Sparsh. I had also directed him in Begaar, a telefilm. He would go to any length to play his part. He was supposed to attend my book launch. I had to stop him because he had made a controversial statement about the jawaans. I wish I hadn't stopped him from attending the do.
KETAN MEHTAOm and I started our journey together, even before we joined films. We were in the Film Institute together. Along with Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil, Om belonged to the new wave of cinema in the 1970s. When we did our first film, Bhavni Bhavai in Gujarati, together we were just out of the institute. Even then, he had a reputation as a great actor, having done incredible work in theatre. Om, Naseer, Shabana and Smita worked on the film without charging a fee. During the shoot, he would write his lines for the next day. When those chits would be found, the joke went around that Om doesn't have to learn his lines he just has to put the chits under his pillow and the lines are in his head the next morning.
SUNIEL SHETTYHe was my friend on screen, and even off screen. I've spent so much time on so many movies with him that it's unbeliev able he's no more. I don't know what I'd tell his son Ishaan when I meet him, those are difficult conversations. It was Om who introduced me to some quaint eateries near my farmhouse. At work, his timing was difficult to match. He played his characters so well, you'd actually begin to feel it's not Om Puri you're standing with.
BOMAN IRANIThe first time I ever met Om Puri, or had a sight of him, was at the premiere of Kalyug. I was a teenager who had sneaked in. There were stalwarts walking in the room and then, there was this lanky man standing with Shyam Benegal. I saw him in the film. He stood out in a bit role. Then, I met him formally at Locarno Film Festival where his film and mine were being screened. By that time, Aakrosh and Ardh Satya had already been ingrained in my head. He encouraged me a lot. And several times after that, we would end up chatting about work. Very often, we'd meet at corridors before entering a venue. I remember, we were shooting for Don and Don 2 in Kuala Lumpur and Germany respectively. On both occasions, we'd spend nights in his room, confabulating. He'd never bring his seniority or any other air on the set.
With inputs by Hiren Kotwani and Renuka Vyavahare
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)