The Oscars paid homage to veteran Bollywood actor Om Puri along with other lost icons of Hollywood. For fans from India, it was heartening to see the late actor’s name alongside other stalwarts in the ‘”In-Memoriam” montage at Oscars 2017. Om Puri passed away on 6 January 2017 at the age of 66.
It also raised the question of whether Bollywood awards had similarly honored the actor. Actor Nawazzudin Siddiqui took to Twitter to express his displeasure and disgust at the Bollywood awards brigade for not mentioning Om Puri in most of its editions.
@TheAcademy #Oscars paid homage 2 late #OmPuri, But in #bollywood award functions nobody converse single word for his contribution… SHAME
— Nawazuddin Siddiqui (@Nawazuddin_S) February 27, 2017
Om Puri is widely remembered in British and American cinema for roles in British films Gandhi (1982), My Son the Fanatic (1997), East Is East (1999) and Hollywood films like City of Joy (1992) with Patrick Swayze, Wolf (1994) with Jack Nicholson, and The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) opposite Val Kilmer. He also portrayed General Zia-ul-Haq in Charlie Wilson’s War, which stars Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts.
The question is: Is Bollywood listening and will more celebrities speak up about this?
Picture Courtesy: DNA India and Pinkvilla
