{"id":3366,"date":"2017-01-08T19:09:56","date_gmt":"2017-01-08T13:39:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/?p=3366"},"modified":"2024-10-18T09:07:03","modified_gmt":"2024-10-18T03:37:03","slug":"om-puri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/om-puri\/","title":{"rendered":"Om Puri \u2013 The Luminance of a Natural Actor"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Om

Om Puri
(October 18, 1950 – January 6, 2017)<\/p><\/div>\n

On May 23, 1999 in the ICC World Cup match Sachin Tendulkar scored a majestic 140 coming back after the demise of his father.\u00a0 His innings was an epitome of grace, an inner fight overcoming emotions and reaching out to his lost father. \u00a0In the same match another Indian batsman scored a stoic 104 but his heroics paled in comparison to the Little Master. In the very next match three days later against Sri Lanka the same batsman scored 145. This time he was overshadowed by his captain Sourav Ganguly whose humongous 183 was the highest One Day International score by any Indian till that time. Even three years back when both these players made their debut against England in the Second Test, Sourav marched away with all the glory for his princely 131 against the other\u2019s 95.\u00a0 In the Third Test Sourav scored yet another hundred, Tendulkar blitzkrieged with 177 and my little hero scored 84. In both these tests he batted at number 7 as compared to Sourav at number 3, which to an extent justifies his scoring less runs. In the longer run he marched past his illustrious friend in terms of batting prowess and runs scored though Sourav\u2019s legacy as a cricketer has multiple dimensions to its credit.<\/p>\n

Rahul Dravid to me is that citadel of relentless performance who is never bothered about the fame of others who at their very best can only strive hard to match his level. The Sourav-Rahul friendship and competition, their fierce professional battle to surpass each other resonates in the camaraderie of Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri \u2013 two of India\u2019s finest film actors of all times. Naseer, like Sourav is the more flamboyant of the two and is undoubtedly the more influential and the more glamorous.<\/p>\n

\"Naseeruddin

Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri play two blind characters in award-winning film Sparsh<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

In their initial journey into the film world in the early 70s, it was Naseer who would get the meaty roles and Om though brilliant, had to remain content with cameos. At times it was tragic considering the amount of power Om could bring in into his performance. Sparsh<\/em> (1979) for example is a film that got Naseer his first National Award and yet Om stood his ground in the few scenes he could get to show his talent. Both Naseer and Om along with Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi would embark upon a journey hitherto unexplored in Indian cinema, leave alone Hindi cinema only. Their films for the first time had the authentic rural touch, the brush of the underprivileged, lower-class representation which didn\u2019t exist before that time. It had always been middle-class directors using actors with Brahminic features \u2013 from Ray to Ghatak, from Bimal Roy to Shantaram and others.<\/p>\n

A number of actors with lesser looks have gone on record saying that by watching Om and Naseer (more of Om because of his \u2018unconventional\u2019 looks) they got the courage to become film actors. Irrfan Khan, Nawazuddin, Manoj Bajpai and a few more can be considered to be the direct descendants of Naseer and Om in a sense. However, not only the later actors but also a number of directors could think of subjects of their choice which they wouldn\u2019t have dared if there were no Naseer or Om.\u00a0 Who can forget Mrinal Sen\u2019s path-breaking Genesis<\/em> (1986) which would never had been possible without this iconic duo.<\/p>\n

Opening scene of Mrinal Sen\u2019s Genesis<\/em> starring Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri along with Shabana Azmi<\/span><\/p>\n