It was a shocking Friday morning for many of us, who woke up to the news of veteran actor Om Puri’s death. The 66-year-old passed away after a massive heart attack.
The Padma Shri awardee not only acted in Bollywood, but also appeared in Hollywood movies and in a couple of Pakistani films as well.
He was known for his outstanding performances in films like Ardh Satya, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, Mirch Masala, East is East and The Hundred Foot Journey. He was also known to speak his mind freely, which, of course, often got him mired in controversies.
Here’s five instances where Om Puri invited trouble upon himself.
In October last year, the actor embarrassed himself on national television when he insulted army soldiers during a news debate. A case was immediately filed against him and Puri apologised to India and demanded that he be punished.
While speaking to a Pakistani journalist in 2015, Puri condemned the controversial Dadri lynching and called people who wanted to impose beef ban, hypocrites.
Om Puri was probably one of the few Bollywood actors who openly criticised Aamir Khan’s famous ‘intolerance’ remark.
In 2012, Om Puri drew flak after he gave a new definition to ‘Naxals’. He called them fighters, fighting for their rights.
In 2011 at Ramlila Maidan in front of Anna Hazare, he attacked politicians and made “derogatory and defamatory” remarks. He called them anpadh (uneducated) and ganwaar (illiterate).