AN OPEN LETTER TO OM PURI

Dear Mr. Om Puri

I know sir that this letter is never going to reach you and all I am doing is a futile attempt to satisfy my fandom. As you make this journey from the world you enlightened with your performances to the one which is eagerly awaiting your arrival, I, being one of your biggest fans have got something to say.......

As a typical Indian, my Bollywood journey started with the regular 'masala' flicks in which the hero ends up beating the hell out of umpteen number of villains at a single time and end up with the girl of his dreams after harassing her in several 'romantic' ways. My Khan experience made me realise the actual reason as to why we as Indians were never able to make a breath taking movie worthy of some deep thinking.......

Then almost as a lucky accident. I stumbled upon, what was perhaps your best work ever Ardh Satya which highlighted the harrowing experiences of an officer in a uniform. I was transfixed by your apt potrayal of a man of duty... On further research on you I found another gem, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro in which you truly showed that you can outclass any actor that belong to your genre of being in the 'parallel cinema' . Also I watched Aakrosh in which you said everything without speaking a single word and your pain of losing your wife to a monster reached our hearts and our minds, And then came my personal favorites Maachis and Hera Pheri, in which you showed that despite being a side actor in a star studded movie, you knew how to hold the audience and make them cry or laugh as you did so. The numerous awards (including the national award) seconded my belief. I know that Bollywood brings its own share of troubles and to secure yourself financially you had to fall into the mainstream. But even in those weak scripts, you lightened up the screen by your acting and did your justice to each role given to you

While an actor is comfortable in this world of cinema, you never shied away from going to both Hollywood and the small screen.... Your movies City of Joy, The Hundred-Foot Journey, East is East among others led the people worldwide to believe that we had actors capable of more than just dancing around the trees. Also, the struggles of Nathu in your tv show Tamas, left a deep impact on all of us..

SIr, YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN A STAR, BUT YOU WERE A TRUE ACTOR, An actor who'll continue to live in our hearts in the numerous performances you gave in your 40 years of your service to cinema and will be a continuous reminder to people like me, that Bollywood has some promising talent which just needs to be found out....

On this tearful note, I bid adieu to you sir, I hope you continue to showcase your acting skills in the heavens above and continue to get the thunderous applause that you truly deserve..

Yours Truly

A Sincere Cinema Lover