The quintessential uncle you never had, Om Prakash’s charming presence has endeared many a Bollywood film in the 70s and 80s. Be it as Sharmila Tagore’s jijaji in Chupke Chupke or Dasrath Singh urf Amitabh Bachchan’s “Daddu” in Namak Halal - Om Prakash is one of those character actors whose familiar presence in a yesteryear film is warm and assuring like a wrap-around.
Watch the video to rewind to some of Om Prakash’s memorable scenes.
Born in Lahore on 19 December 1919, Om Prakash had to leave the city during the Partition. He moved to Amritsar and later came to Mumbai with the aim of establishing himself as an actor in the film industry. Though he had acted before in Lahore, Om Prakash got his first break as a villain in a film called Lakhpati in the Hindi film industry.
Om Prakash got important roles alongside several greats of the era - Ashok Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar and later of course Amitabh Bachchan. He also directed two films Kanhaiya with Raj Kapoor and Nutan, and Gateway of India starring Bharat Bhushan, Pradeep Kumar and Madhubala.
Om Prakash passed away on 21 February 1998, in Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital after a heart attack.
(This story is from The Quint’s archives. It is being republished to mark Om Prakash’s Birth Anniversary.)
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