Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Award-winning Indian actor Om Puri dies of heart attack

Om Puri, the acclaimed Indian actor who appeared in hit films including Gandhi, City of Joy and East is East, died on Friday (6) after suffering a heart attack.

The award-winning character actor, whose career ranged from arthouse Indian films to Hollywood epics, died of a heart attack at his home in Mumbai, a family member told the Press Trust of India (PTI). He was 66.


“It’s really a great loss,” the veteran scriptwriter Javed Akhtar told PTI.

“Wonderful person, great actor and with such impressive body of work, right from Satyajit Ray to any commercial Hindi film to films in US and Pakistan,” he said, referring to the renowned Indian director.

Bollywood stars tweeted their shock at the news, which broke early on Friday, with Amitabh Bachchan saying he was “shocked” to learn of Puri’s death.

“A dear friend, a lovable colleague and an exceptional talent ... in grief!” he said.

Actress Priyanka Chopra said it was “The end of an era”, adding, “the legacy lives on”.

Puri made his debut in the mid-1970s before going on to star in a number of major Hindi hits as well as, controversially, in some Pakistani movies.

He was known in India for his role in edgy arthouse movies such as Aakrosh (1980) and Ardh Satya (1982), for which he won the National Indian Film Award for Best Actor.

But he also acted in major Hollywood hits, featuring alongside the likes of Jack Nicholson, Tom Hanks, Patrick Swayze and Dame Helen Mirren.

“Though I did try to resist commercial films for quite some time, I succumbed to it finally as money was equally important as art,” Puri wrote in his autobiography.

“But as an artist I never compromised on what I had to do on-screen, even if the film was not up to the standard.”

Puri appeared in a number of British films, notably Richard Attenborough’s 1982 epic on the life of India’s independence movement leader Mahatma Gandhi.

He starred in the 1999 Bafta-winning comedy East is East as a fish-and-chip shop owner who struggles to get his British family to follow the strict Pakistani customs he is used to.

He was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, for his services to the film industry and in 2004 received an honorary OBE for contributions to British cinema.

The award-winning actor made an impact on the other side of the Atlantic too, appearing alongside Nicholson in Wolf (1994) and Val Kilmer in The Ghost and the Darkness (1996).

In 2007 he played Pakistani general Muhammad Zia ul Haq in Hollywood film Charlie Wilson’s War, which starred Hanks and Julia Roberts.

Puri—who was born in Ambala, now in Haryana state—to a Punjabi family in 1950, also starred opposite legendary British actress Mirren in the 2014 film The Hundred Foot Journey.

He was sometimes in the headlines for the wrong reasons, enduring an acrimonious and well-publicised split from his wife Nandita Puri.

In October he was accused of insulting Indian soldiers shortly after 19 were killed in an attack on an army base in Kashmir when he asked, “who had asked the soldiers to join the army?”

India blamed Pakistan for the raid and Puri was actually arguing against banning Pakistani artists from working in Bollywood films, but his comments sparked a furore on social media.

More For You

Air India flight crash
Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft, operating flight AI-171 to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
Getty Images

Air India crash probe finds fuel to engines was cut off before impact

Highlights

 
     
  • Fuel to both engines of the Air India flight was cut off seconds before the crash
  •  
  • A pilot was heard questioning the other over the cut-off; both denied initiating it.
  •  
  • The Dreamliner crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad, killing 260 people.
  •  
  • Investigators are focusing on fuel switch movement; full analysis may take months.

FUEL control switches to both engines of the Air India flight that crashed shortly after takeoff were moved from the "run" to the "cutoff" position seconds before the crash, according to a preliminary investigation report released early Saturday.

Keep ReadingShow less
Chinese vessel tracked in Bay of Bengal after disabling identification system

The Indian Navy and Coast Guard have consistently reported Chinese research vessel presence. (Representational image: Getty Images)

Chinese vessel tracked in Bay of Bengal after disabling identification system

A Chinese research vessel was detected operating in the Bay of Bengal near Indian waters while attempting to conceal its presence by disabling its Automatic Identification System (AIS), according to a report by The Economic Times, citing French maritime intelligence firm Unseenlabs.

The French company conducted a 16-day satellite-based survey tracking ships through radio frequency emissions. It monitored 1,897 vessels, with 9.6 per cent showing no AIS activity, indicating attempts to avoid detection. The survey raised concerns amid increased Chinese activity in the region.

Keep ReadingShow less
Asian-inspired garden earns
five awards at Hampton Court

(From left) Malcolm Anderson (RHS, head of sustainability) Clare Matterson (RHS director general), Lorraine Bishton (Subaru UK and Ireland, managing director) Andrew Ball (director, Big Fish Landscapes) Mike McMahon and Jewlsy Mathews with the medals

Asian-inspired garden earns five awards at Hampton Court

BRITISH Asians are being encouraged to take up gardening by a couple who have won a record five medals at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival.

“It’s a contemporary reimagining of a traditional walled garden, highlighting the British and Irish rainforests,” said Jewlsy Mathews, who was born in Britain of parents from Kerala, a southern Indian state known for its lush vegetation.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk weather

Amber heat health alerts have been issued across several regions of England

iStock

England faces widespread heat alerts and hosepipe bans amid rising temperatures

Highlights:

  • Amber heat health alerts in place for large parts of England
  • Hosepipe bans announced in Yorkshire, Kent and Sussex
  • Temperatures could reach 33°C over the weekend
  • Health risks rise, especially for elderly and vulnerable groups

Heat warnings in effect as UK braces for another hot weekend

Amber heat health alerts have been issued across several regions of England, with temperatures expected to climb to 33°C in some areas over the weekend. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) activated the warning at 12 pm on Friday, with it set to remain in place until 9 am on Monday.

The alerts cover the East Midlands, West Midlands, south-east, south-west, East of England, and London. Additional yellow alerts were issued for the north-east, north-west, and Yorkshire and the Humber, starting from midday Friday.

Keep ReadingShow less
Essex ladybird invasion

One of the largest gatherings was filmed on a beach at Point Clear

Dee-anne Markiewicz / SWNS

Swarms of ladybirds invade Essex coastline amid soaring temperatures

Highlights:

  • Ladybird swarms reported across Essex and Suffolk coastal towns
  • Hot weather likely driving the sudden surge in population
  • Sightings include Point Clear, Shoebury, Clacton and Felixstowe
  • Similar outbreaks occurred in 1976 during another hot UK summer

Sudden surge in ladybird numbers across the southeast

Millions of ladybirds have been spotted swarming towns and villages along the Essex coast, with similar sightings stretching into Suffolk. Residents have reported unusually high numbers of the red and black-spotted insects, particularly near coastal areas, with the recent hot weather believed to be a major contributing factor.

One of the largest gatherings was filmed on a beach at Point Clear, a village near St Osyth in Essex, where the insects could be seen piling on top of each other on driftwood and plants.

Keep ReadingShow less