Om Puri, veteran Indian actor, dies aged 66

Actor Om Puri OBE, known for his work in Indian and British cinema, has died at the age of 66, after a heart attack at his home in Mumbai.

A star of Indian mainstream and arthouse cinema since the late 1970s, Puri also became a familiar face on screen in Britain, notably in My Son the Fanatic (1997) and the Salford-set comedy East Is East (1999), for which he received a BAFTA nomination for best actor.

Born in Ambala, Punjab, in 1950, he attended the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune before breaking into acting in 1976 in the political satire Ghashiram Kotwal. By the early 1980s, he was established as a performer, appearing in many landmark Indian films of the decade, including Bhavni Bhavai (1980), Aakrosh (1980), Sadgati (1981), Ardh Satya (1982), Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983) and Mirch Masala (1986).

Following a cameo in Richard Attenborough’s biopic Gandhi (1982), he became increasingly sought out for parts in British and American films. He had a supporting role alongside Patrick Swayze in City of Joy (1992), with Jack Nicholson in Wolf (1994), with Steve Coogan in The Parole Officer (2001), and in the 2002 TV adaptation of Zadie Smith’s White Teeth. More recently, he starred with Helen Mirren in The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014).

At the same time, he continued a prolific career in Indian films and TV serials, with later work including Chachi 420 (1997), Hera Pheri (2000), Chor Machaye Shor (2002), Malamaal Weekly (2006) and Road to Sangam (2009). He made his debut in a Pakistani film in 2016 with the comedy Actor in Law, which would be his final film.

Puri was awarded an honorary OBE for his contribution to British cinema in 2004.