Early life

Om Puri was born in Ambala, Haryana, to a Punjabi Hindu family. His father worked in the railways and in the Indian Army. Puri graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. He is also an alumnus of the 1973 class of National School of Drama where Naseeruddin Shah was a co-student.

Career

Puri has worked in numerous Indian films and in many films produced in the United Kingdom and the United States.

He made his film debut in the 1976 Marathi film Ghashiram Kotwal, based on a Marathi play of the same name by Vijay Tendulkar. It was directed by K. Hariharan and Mani Kaul in cooperation with 16 graduates of the FTII. He has claimed that he was paid "peanuts" for his best work. Along with Amrish Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil, he was among the main actors who starred in what was then referred to as art films such as Bhavni Bhavai (1980), Sadgati (1981), Ardh Satya (1982), Mirch Masala (1986) and Dharavi (1992).

He was critically acclaimed for his performances in many unconventional roles such as a victimized tribal in Aakrosh (1980) (a film in which he spoke only during flash-back sequences); Jimmy's manager in Disco Dancer (1982); a police inspector in Ardh Satya (1982), where he revolts against lifelong social, cultural and political persecution and for which he got the National Film Award for Best Actor; the leader of a cell of Sikh militants in Maachis (1996); as a tough cop again in the commercial film Gupt in 1997; and as the courageous father of a martyred soldier in Dhoop (2003).

In 1999, Puri acted in a Kannada movie A.K. 47 as a strict police officer who tries to keep the city safe from the underworld — it became a huge commercial hit. Puri's acting in the movie is memorable. He rendered his own voice for the Kannada dialogues. In the same year, he starred in the successful British comedy film East is East, where he played a first-generation Pakistani immigrant in the north of England, struggling to come to terms with his far more westernised children.

Puri had a cameo in the highly acclaimed film Gandhi (1982, directed by Richard Attenborough). In the mid-1990s, he diversified to play character roles in mainstream Hindi cinema, where his roles are more tuned to mass audiences than film critics. He became known internationally by starring in many British films such as My Son the Fanatic (1997), East Is East (1999) and The Parole Officer (2001). He appeared in Hollywood films including City of Joy (1992), opposite Patrick Swayze; Wolf (1994) with Jack Nicholson; and The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) opposite Val Kilmer. In 2007, he appeared as General Zia-ul-Haq in Charlie Wilson's War, which stars Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts.

He has worked in Hindi television serials like Kakkaji Kaheen (1988) (roughly meaning "Uncle Says") as a paan-chewing 'Kakkaji', which was a parody on politicians, and Mr. Yogi (1989) as a suave 'Sutradhaar' who enjoys pulling the protagonist's leg. These two serials underlined Om Puri's versatility as a comedian. He received critical acclaim for his performance in Govind Nihalani's television film Tamas (1987) based on a Hindi novel of the same name. He played comic roles in Hindi films like Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro which reached a cult status, followed by Chachi 420 (1997), Hera Pheri (2000), Chor Machaye Shor (2002) and Malamaal Weekly (2006).

His more recent Hindi film roles include Singh Is Kinng, Mere Baap Pehle Aap and Billu. Puri was seen in the role of Mohammad Ali Kasuri in Road to Sangam (2009). In 2010, he appeared in The Hangman. In 2011 he was in the Indian action movie Don 2.

He has also worked in some episodes of the TV series Aahat during the second season which was aired between 2004 and 2005 on Sony channel.

Puri was seen on the small screen in a crime show Savdhaan India’s second season on Life OK.

In 2014, he appeared opposite Helen Mirren in the comedy-drama The Hundred-Foot Journey.

Selected filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1972	Ghashiram Kotwal	Ghashiram	Marathi film
1977	Godhuli		Based on a Hindi story by Premchand
1977	Tabbaliyu Neenade Magane		Kannada film
1977	Bhumika
1978	Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan	Marxist man	Directed by Saeed Akhtar Mirza
1980	Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai	Garrage Mechanic	Directed by Saeed Akhtar Mirza
1980	Aakrosh	Lahanya Bhiku	Won Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award
1980	Bhavni Bhavai	Ketan Mehta
1981	Sadgati	DuKhi	Director: Satyajit Ray
1982	Gandhi	Nahari	Directed by Richard Attenborough
1982	Vijeta	Arvind	Directed: Shyam Benegal
1982	Chann Pardesi	Tulsi	Punjabi film
1982	Arohan	Hari Mondal	Won, National Film Award for Best Actor
1983	Ardh Satya	Anant Velankar	Won, National Film Award for Best Actor
1983	Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron	Ahuja
1983	Long Da Lishkara	Dittu	Punjabi film
1984	The Jewel in the Crown	Mr De Souza	English TV series
1984	Giddh	Bhashya
1985	Mirch Masala	Abu Mian	Directed: Ketan Mehta
1985	Nasoor	Dr Sunil	Directed: Ashok Chopra
1985	Aghaat	Trade Unionist	Director: Govind Nihalani
1988	Ek hi Maqsad	Dr. Ram Kumar Verma
1988	Puravrutham	Raman	Malayalam movie
1990	Ghayal	ACP Joe D'Souza	Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor
1991	Sam & Me	Chetan Parikh
1991	Narsimha	Suraj Narayan Singh 'Baapji'
1992	Maya Memsaab		adaptation of Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary
1992	City of Joy	Hazari Pal	English film adaptation of Dominique Lapierre's novel
1992	Ankuram	Satyam	Telugu film
1992	Current	Velu
1992	Raat	Sharji	Hindi film
1993	In Custody	Deven	Urdu/Hindi film
1993	Patang	Mathura
1994	Wolf	Dr. Vijay Alezias	English film
1994	Drohkaal	DCP Abhay Singh
1994	Woh chokri
1996	The Ghost and the Darkness	Abdullah	English film
1996	Maachis	Sanatan	Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor
1997	My Son the Fanatic	Parvez	English film
1997	Chachi 420	Banwari lal-Secy
1997	Aastha	Amar
1997	Gupt: The Hidden Truth	Inspector Udham Singh	Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor
1997	Mrityudand	Rambaran Mahto
1998	Such a Long Journey	Ghulam Mohamed	English film
1998	Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha	Inspector Khan	Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor
1998	Vinashak - Destroyer	Inspector Khan
1999	East Is East	George Khan	English film
1999	A.K.47	Commissioner Yashwant Sinha	Kannada film
2000	Hey Ram	Goel
2000	Kunwara	Balraj Singh
2000	Hera Pheri	Khadak Singh
2000	Dulhan hum le jayenge	Bhola Nath
2000	Ghaath	Ajay Pandey
2001	Farz	ACP Arjun Singh
2001	The Mystic Masseur	Ramlogan	English film
2001	Gadar: Ek Prem Katha	Narrator
2001	The Parole Officer	George	English film
2001	Bollywood Calling	Subramaniam
2002	Awara Paagal Deewana	Ballu Bolbachan
2002	Dhruva		Kannada film
2002	Chor Machaye Shor
2002	White Teeth	Samad	English series adaptation of White Teeth by Zadie Smith
2003	Aapko Pehle Bhi Kahin Dekha Hai	Sam
2003	Second Generation		A British TV serial
2003	Code 46	Bahkland	English film
2003	Maqbool	Inspector Pandit
2003	Dhoop	Father Of Dead Military Man
2004	Kyun! Ho Gaya Na...
2004	Aan: Men at Work	Police Commissioner Khurana
2004	Lakshya	Subedar Maj. Pritam Singh
2004	Yuva	Prosonjit Bhatacharya
2004	Dev	Special Commissioner Tejinder Khosla
2005	Deewane Huye Paagal	Don
2005	The Hangman	Shiva
2005	Mumbai Xpress	ACP S.P. Rao
2006	Rang De Basanti	Amanullah Khan
2006	Malamaal Weekly	Balwant 'Balu'
2006	Chup Chup Ke	Prabhat Singh Chauhan
2006	Don: The Chase Begins Again	CBI Officer Vishal Malik
2007	Fool & Final	Father of Rahul / Raja
2007	Charlie Wilson's War	Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq	English film
2008	Mere Baap Pehle Aap	Madhav Mathur
2008	Kismat Konnection	Sanjeev Gill
2008	Singh Is Kinng	Rangeela
2008	Mukhbiir	SP Intelligence — Rathod
2009	Billu	Sahukaar Daamchand
2009	London Dreams	Arjun's uncle
2009	Kurbaan	Bhaijaan
2009	Delhi-6
2010	Khap	Sarpanch
2010	Dabangg	Police Inspector
2010	Na Ghar Ke Na Ghaat Ke	Sankata Prasad Tripathi
2010	Action Replayy	Rai Bhahadur
2010	West Is West	George Khan	English film
2011	Don 2: The King is Back	CBI Officer Vishal Malik
2011	Love Express	Khadak Singh Bakshi
2011	Teen Thay Bhai	Chixie Gill
2012	Agneepath	Additional Commissioner Gaitonde
2012	Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya	Chowdhary
2012	Chaar Din Ki Chandni	Fatoor Singh
2012	Chakravyuh	Govind Suryavanshi
2012	OMG: Oh My God!	Hanif Bhai
2012	Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal	David
2013	Jatt Boys Putt Jattan De	Jora Vailly	Punjabi film
2013	Bhaji in Problem		Punjabi film
2013	The Reluctant Fundamentalist	Abu
2014	The Hundred-Foot Journey	Papa Kadam	English/French
2014	Heartless	Dr. Sanjay Trehan
2014	Aa Gaye Munde U.K. De
2014	Chaar Sahibzaade	Narrator	Punjabi film
2015	Jai Jawaan Jai Kisaan	Dr. Rajendra Prasad	Hindi
2015	Dirty Politics	Laddu Babu aka Sai Kumar Konakandla	Hindi
2015	Chapekar Brothers	Bal Gangadhar Tilak	Hindi
2015	Bajrangi Bhaijaan	Moulana Sahab	Hindi
2015	Miss Tanakpur Haazir Ho	Matang Singh	Hindi
2015	A Million Rivers	Shiv	English
2016	Ghayal Once Again	ACP Joe D'Souza	Hindi
2016	Aadupuliyattam	Muni	Malayalam
2016	The Jungle Book	Bagheera	Hindi
2016	Viceroy's House		English, filming
2016	Santheyalli Nintha Kabira		Kannada, filming
2016	Tiger		Kannada, filming
2016	Actor In Law		Pakistani film debut

Others

1988	Bharat Ek Khoj	Various roles	A Doordarshan Television Series
2003	Second Generation	Sharma (A Mentally Challenged Bakery Factory Owner)	A British TV Serial

Awards and nominations

Wins

• 1981: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Aakrosh
• 1982: National Film Award for Best Actor for Arohan
• 1984: National Film Award for Best Actor 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: Padmashri, 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

[ Source: Wikipedia ]