I t is hard for serious film goers, who were witness to the parallel film movement of the 70s, to digest the sudden demise of Om Puri, an acting giant of New Wave cinema and commercial as well. The blood curdling scream as Lahanya Bhiku in Aakrosh (1980), directed by Govind Nihalani, still echoes in our ears.
As Nihalani himself admitted: that was the only way to end a story of grave injustice and human rights violation perpetrated against a victim, neither educated nor empowered to challenge the culprit. His ‘scream’, reached nook and corner of the country, etching an indelible impression about Om Puri on the minds of people. More than other films that unveiled the acting prowess of the actor -- Ardha Satya , Drohkal, Aghaat -- it is Aakrosh that helped Om carve a niche for himself in the century old history of Indian cinema.
That night when Om Puri suffered a heart attack at his residence in Mumbai’s suburbs, did he scream ‘silently’ and helplessly, with no one to hear him?
Had he lived, Om Puri would have inaugurated the Bahuroopi International Multi-lingual Theatre Festival beginning today in Mysore. Noted film maker T.S. Nagabharana, who took the initiative to bring Om Puri to Mysore, was shell shocked, when news channels flashed the news of the demise of the actor. “For a second I could not believe what was scrolling on the TV screen. ‘Are TV channels playing the fool?’ I asked myself. It took a while to grasp the truth,” said an emotionally charged Bharana.
“I was supposed to pick up Om Puri from the Airport on Tuesday, and we were to meet Girish Karnad. Besides inaugurating the festival – which he agreed for his respect and fondness for B.V. Karanth -- he had promised to watch my play to be staged in Bahuroopi festival.”
Because of his association with National School of Drama (NSD) New Delhi, and FTII, Pune, Om had a relationship with Kannada theatre and film industry. That’s because of his teachers -- Girish Karnad and B.V. Karanth. In the 70s when New Wave in Kannada cinema started hogging limelight at the national level, fresh talents from theatre and cinema including FTII and NSD such as Naseeruddin Shah, Kulbhushan Kharabandha, Smitha Patil Amrish Puri, Shabana Azmi, Om Puri, Deepti Naval, and Anil Kapoor were part of the celluloid experiments of Karnataka at that time.
“When I first met Om with Karanth in the 70s at NSD, he was just a student. He was studying at FTII. When I started working as assistant to Karanth for his films, Om was a protagonist in them. We were together for almost four years on various projects,” said Bharana, recalling the days he spent with Om Puri. “I used to ask him, how he could dream of becoming an actor with a face filled with pockmarks when good looks mattered a lot. Undeterred, Om used to say he banked on acting and voice strength. Yes, he finally achieved what he dreamt in his life and became one of the finest actors not only in the country, but also abroad,” recalls Bharana with admiration.
When Bharana remade his landmark film Anveshane in Hindi, Bin Bulaye Mehmaan, Om played the role which Ananth Nag performed in Kannada. After 70 per cent of the shooting, the film was stopped because of the differences between producers. “Regretting the fact that the film did not see the light of the day, Om had said: ‘If I had enough money, I would have completed the film.’ He was also struggling to meet ends at that point of time”, said Bharana, recalling the involvement of Om in the project. “He was a method actor. He would understand the meaning of the dialogues before coming to the sets,” Bharana said.
The other person with whom Om had close links was Sundarraj, who was in the forefront of parallel film movement in Kannada in the 70s. Sundararaj, who worked with Karanth in plays including Hayavadana , Jokumaraswamy associated with film projects of Karanth including, Chomanadudi . B.V. Karanth introduced Om to Sundarraj, during the making of telefilm Chor Chor Chhup Jaaye . “It was Girish Karnad who referred the name of Om to Karanth, knowing that Om could do justice to the role. It was a film based on a short story by Na. Rathna,” remembers Sundarraj, chronicling his friendship with Om. Sundarraj was assistant director and production in-charge for that film. “In the first meeting itself, we became close friends. The bond strengthened during the shooting of Tabbaliyu Neenade Magane - the Kannada film based on the novel by S.L. Bhyrappa and jointly directed by Karanth and Karnad. I essayed the role of Yengta in the Kannada version, while Om did the same role in Godhuli, the Hindi version. Because of his training in NSD and FTII, he learnt that it was hardwork that yields result. He was a health freak and used to take me jogging everyday. We were climbing up and down a small hillock in Mahimapura near Tumkur, where the film was shot. He used to season his voice through voice culture exercise. His throaty voice had always been so commanding and was unique in the film industry. He used to force me to sing songs from Karanth's plays, as he was very fond of them,” he said.
Sundarraj continued; “There were no hotels at that time. Karanth erected tents for us to spend nights on the location. Om and I shared the same tent, while Naseer had a separate one. As Naseer and Om were from the north, they could not sustain themselves on south Indian food and demanded north Indian roti and dal. Karanth made both Om and me in-charge of kitchen and we used to prepare rotis.”
Girish Karnad, who was on the selection panel in FTII, managed to convince the panel that Om Puri should not be rejected for his looks. He also made a provision for him to pay fees later, at his convenience. Karnad also records that Om did justice to the faith he reposed in him and became a renowned actor. Om did not forget to acknowledge Karnad's gesture. While receiving the Filmfare lifetime achievement award he had said that if not for Girish Karnad, he wouldn’t have made it. “This will be the most satisfying Gurudakshine (present to teacher) for anybody,” notes Karnad.
When Om was studying in NSD, his friends apart from Naseer were Jaspal, Jyothi Deshpande, B. Jayashree Rita Puri, Rohini Oak and Jayadev Hattangadi. Jayashree in her memoir Kanna Mucche Kaade Goode penned by Preethi Nagaraja, recalls her association with Om. According to Jayashree, Om was a sensitive artist, she along with Jyothi Deshpande use to sing theatre songs for him, besides discussing various issues. It was Om and Naseer who taught her Hindi, a great challenge at NSD. “Om was very close to me during my NSD days. After my marriage, he came to Bengaluru and presented me with a book on how to groom children,” she says in her memoir.
Besides parallel films, Om Puri also acted in a couple of Kannada films like, AK-47 of Om Prakash, Dhruva by M.S. Ramesh and Tiger of Nanda Kishore. Om was so down to earth, and never behaved like other Bollywood actors.
With Om’s sudden departure, there is a huge void in the heart of friends and connoisseurs of Indian cinema.
