Naseeruddin Shah: Om Puri's journey was incredible

Om Puri (1950-2017)

×At Om Puri's chautha ceremony on Monday, Naseeruddin Shah remembered his best friend and shared a few anecdotes from his early days. "Om Puri once invited me to his place in Delhi; it was a railway guard's house. He had cooked egg curry. I asked him to show me where he sleeps. He took me to a corridor facing the station and a stench greeted me. I saw a neat charpoy with a pair of chappals slipped under the bed. The stove on which he had made the anda curry for me was also there. There were a couple of books on exercising apart from Constantin Stanislavski's My Life In Art.

Naseeruddin Shah

I need not describe this, but wanted you to know Om's journey from the corridors of an old Delhi station to the successful actor we all fantasise about," he said.

Naseer also recalled how Om Puri would impersonate the late actor Amrish Puri over the phone. "In those days, there were only landlines. I would hear Amrish Puri's voice on the other end and be on my best behaviour. Many thought Om was Amrish Puri's son or brother and Govind Nihalini is solely responsible for it [creating that perception]. I envied Om's voice and he envied my English [speaking abilities]."