R.I.P: Bollywood actor Om Puri passed away

Reportedly,Actor Om Puri 66, returned home on Thursday evening after a shoot. The door bell to his house at Lokhandwala's Oakland Park residence went unanswered on Friday morning, following which his driver raised an alarm.

As confirmed by his friends he was found dead at his Mumbai house on Friday,succumbed to a major heart attack.

Legendary actor Om Puri was Born in a Punjabi family hailing from Ambala in Haryana.As his family was unsure of his date and year of birth, however his mother told him he had been born two days after the Hindu festival Dussehra.

His uncle chose 9 March 1950 as his "official" birthday, however as an adult when he moved to Bombay, Puri looked up when Dussehra was celebrated in 1950, to establish his date of birth as 18 October.

Studied at the Film and Television Institute of India and at the National School of Drama where Naseeruddin Shah was a co-student.

Career:

Om Puri made his film debut in 1976 with the Marathi film 'Ghashiram Kotwal'.
He was an Illustrious celebrity in bollywood,featured in films like Aakrosh (1980), Arohan (1982) and television films like Sadgati (1981) and Tamas (1987) and also light-hearted roles in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983), Chachi 420 (1997) and Actor In Law (2017). He had various collaborations with director Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalani. Om Puri's one of the last films Ghazi will release after his death in 2017.

The recipient of two National awards and two Filmfare Awards including a Lifetime Achievement Award, played meaty and memorable role opposite Helen Mirren in Steven Spielberg's 2014 American comedy drama 'The Hundred-Foot Journey' apart from 'east is East', 'City of Joy', 'Gandhi' and 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist', was made an honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire(OBE).

Other notable television appearances included Bharat Ek Khoj, Yatra, Mr. Yogi, Kakaji Kahin, Sea Hawks, Antaral, and Savdhaan India's second season.

Apart from bollywood he also worked for Malayalam, Punjabi, English/French, Kannada, Telugu films too.

Awards:

1981: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Aakrosh
1981: National Film Award for Best Actor (29th National Film Awards) for Arohan
1983: National Film Award for Best Actor (31st National Film Awards) for Ardh Satya
1984: Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Best Actor for Ardh Satya
1998: Brussels International Film Festival Best Actor for My Son the Fanatic
1990: Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award
1998: Grand Prix Special des Amériques Montréal World Film Festival for exceptional contribution to the cinematographic art
2004: Honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to The British Film Industry
2009: Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award
2015: Lifetime Achievement Award International Film Festival of Prayag

Nominations:

1990: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Ghayal
1997: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Maachis
1998: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Gupt: The Hidden Truth
1999: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha
1999: BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for East Is East

Personal Life:

Om Puri married to Seema Kapoor,the sister of actor Annu Kapoor, in 1991.After they broke their 8-month long marriage, Puri tied the knot with journalist Nandita Puri in 1993 and had a son named Ishaan with Nandita.

Nandita wrote Puri's biography titled 'Unlikely Hero: The Story Of Om Puri.' details of his previous relationships in the book. In 2013, Nandita filed an allegation of domestic violence against him, and the two opted for a judicial separation shortly afterwards.

His second wife reported that they kept a "secular house", but that "while Om is not ritualistic, he does not mind others being so". He "takes solace in spiritual reading", particularly in the writings of spiritual teacher Eknath Easwaran, many of whose books he shared with friends. Puri seldom took politics seriously, and often found relaxation by cooking or gardening.

Sadly we lost an Iconic Artist, Illustrious Actor and a great human today.