A giant of parallel and new wave cinema, Om Puri delivered some stellar performances in “Ardh Satya”, “Aakrosh” and “Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron” while being equally at home with Bollywood potboilers and Hollywood movies such as “East Is East” and “City of Joy”.
With his instantly recognisable rich baritone and chameleon-like ability to transform on-screen, 66-year-old Puri was at ease playing an angst-laden police officer in “Ardh Satya” to the comic role of a corrupt builder Ahuja in “Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro”.
He was the major face of the parallel cinema movement alongside his contemporaries Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil, working collectively in some of the biggest Indian classics like “Bhumika”, “Aakrosh”, “Sparsh”, “Bhavni Bhavai”, “Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Ata Hai”, “Mirch Masala”, “Sadgati”, “Arohan”, “Ardh Satya” and “Mandi”.
