My wife has stripped me bare: Om Puri

Veteran Hindi and international film actor Om Puri has stoutly defended wife Nandita Puri s book on his life and times, asserting that the controversy over it wasn t a stage-managed publicity stunt.At a function organised to release his biography, An Unlikely Hero: Om Puri, at the 40th International Film Festival of India on Wednesday, the globally known thespian said: It isn t easy for a woman to write a book on her husband. But Nandita has done a fantastic job, with detachment, objectivity and honesty. She has sized me up perfectly, both personally and professionally. Puri continued: Not only has she highlighted my early life and growth as a man, she has also thrown light on my personal life, affairs and weaknesses with the professionalism of a seasoned journalist who has two decades of experience.

The biography, published by Roli Books, has been in the news for allegedly causing a rift between husband and wife.Puri, who is the current chairman of the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), had been quoted by certain sections of the press as saying that he wouldn t let his wife get away with it . Speaking here, the actor pilloried the media, both print and electronic, for blowing the controversy over the book out of proportion. They gave the impression that this biography is a scurrilous, sensational piece of writing. Believe me, it is anything but that. The focus on my personal life is only a small part of the book, he said.With this book, my wife has stripped me bare and I enjoyed being stripped by her, Puri said, his tongue firmly in cheek. The controversy was a result of a misunderstanding. I assure you that it wasn t a publicity stunt that my wife and I decided to orchestrate in order to sell the book.

Nandita Puri, on her part, asserted that she approached the task of writing her husband s biography with as much detachment and empathy as she could muster. Striking a balance was important. That is the only way I could have done justice to the book, which covers every aspect of the 60 years of his life, she said, speaking at the book release function.Om Puri pointed out that Nandita was no greenhorn as a writer and knew exactly what she was doing. She has written two screenplays as well as an anthology of short stories. She is now working on a big historical novel, he said.The actor said that the story of his life was worth narrating. At the age of seven, I was a rag-picker. I would collect coal that steam engines would leave behind at the railway station. I would wait until the coal cooled down and then take it home to be used as fuel, he recalled.From there on, he added, he went on to school, college, drama school and the film institute, evolving as a human being all the way.

Nandita has captured all that with great skill and lucidity, he said. Puri paid a special tribute to his teachers and mentors who helped him become what he is today. If men like Govind Nihalani and Shyam Benegal hadn t made the films that they did, I wouldn t have been the actor I am, he said. (Saibal Chatterjee is a National Award-winning film critic who has covered film festivals around the world, including the ones in Cannes and Toronto. He will be writing exclusively for NDTVMovies.com from IFFI 2009)

Om Puri is childlike: Big B

Amitabh Bachchan, who launched the controversial biography of Om Puri here, has lauded his contemporary`s courage in revealing details about his personal life.

The launch, where Puri narrated some of life`s moments himself, was attended by a large number of people from the Hindi film fraternity.

Describing the evening in his blog, the 67-year-old megastar wrote, "Facing a public audience can be a daunting task even in the most comfortable circumstances, but to his credit I must say his candidness became the most endearing moments of the evening."

The book `Om Puri: An Unlikely Hero` has been written by Puri`s journalist wife Nandita and was in news over her revelations about Puri`s relationship with various women.

"Overwhelmed by the realities of his own very humbling early existence, Om Puri choked with emotion as he narrated those moments with the honesty that most of us would perhaps never acquire," Bachchan wrote about his `Dev` co-star.

Big B also joked about how he has become the most popular book launcher in Mumbai and has developed a skill to wrap things up quickly.

"As the official `book launcher` of the city I have now developed a knack of getting through these situations rather rapidly," he wrote.

Bachchan`s next book launch is a new elaborate form of his father Harivansh Rai Bachchan`s `Madhushala` at the late poet`s 101 birth anniversary on November 28.

Om Puri regrets blasting wife and her book

Since a the last few days, the legendary actor Om Puri was in the news, courtesy, the explosive revelations about his past, which has now taken the shape of a book (the biographical Unlikely Hero: The Story Of Om Puri), and that was penned by none other than his own wife Nandita Puri. Om Puri was so visibly upset with the revelations, that he spared no word to blast Nandita through a couple of leading tabloids.The controversy started when his wife Nandita, who has written biography on Om Puri’s life, revealed his private moments and sexual encounters of the past in her book.Details like Om had sex with his maid Shanti at the age of 14 and that he had a long-standing liaison with a woman named Laxmi with whom Om was sexually and emotionally involved, were given out to media which fumed Om.

In vengeance, he blasted off his wife in media for her decision to reveal these details.The actor said his wife had reduced a very important and sacred part of his life to cheap and lurid gossip and that he had shared these dark secrets with her as all husbands do. If she chose to make them public at least she should’ve made sure to maintain a dignity about those experiences as they are a valuable part of his life and should’ve considered the standing he has in the society. The actor added that there was so much more to his life than this; hence why highlight those experiences of his life.Now that the dust has settled down, Om Puri seems to be heavily regretting his decision to have spoken out so bitterly against his wife and her book. He said that he was very angry then, but now he deeply regretted his impulsive reaction as it has hurt his wife and son Ishaan to no end.

Nevertheless, the actor is livid with the book’s publishers and says that actually they are to be blamed for sending out such sensitive aspects about his sexual encounters to the media. Om says his anger should have been projected at the publishers for trying to pre-sell his wife’s book by leaking out only the sexual episodes.

When Om Puri had to work in a Tea Shop

From serving in a tea shop at the age of seven to becoming one of the most respected artistes in Indian cinema, veteran actor Om Puri's journey to the world of showbiz has been a fight against odds.

Born in Ambala, the earliest memories of the actor are of acute poverty and his father's struggle to put out food on the table, according to his biography 'Unlikely Hero: Om Puri'.

"Tek Chand (Puri's father) was very temperamental and hot-headed and kept losing his job every six months. It would take him two months to hunt for a new job and then he would lose is again in six months' time. Those were days of poverty and of a hand-to-mouth existence for the family," the book, written by his wife Nandita C Puri, says.

According to the book, Puri started working as a helper in a tea shop after his father was arrested on charges of stealing from a railway store. The family had to survive on the kindness of neighbours for many days before Om and his brother Ved started doing small jobs to earn some money.

"At the age of seven Om started contributing in his little way to the family kitty, washing cups and glasses in a local tea stall," the book says. Published by Roli Books and slated to release later this month, the biography brings alive Puri's unlikely journey to the world of cinema and his family's struggle to survive amid poverty and hunger.

The book says that Puri's father used to get angry very soon and despite his love for his family, he used to beat his mother. But despite his follies, the actor looked up to his father as he believed that his anger stemmed from the frustration of not being able to support his family.

Puri was sent to his maternal uncle's house as his parents struggled to make ends meet and it was here that he first learned the early nuances of acting. Puri would stand in the marketplace and observe people only to enact them later in front of his cousins, much to their amusement.

Interestingly, Puri's earliest ambition was of becoming a soldier. He even applied for the entrance but his father could not afford the money for his training.

The idea of working as an actor struck to Puri when he was in ninth standard. "...he saw an advertisement in a vernacular daily asking for youngsters to audition for a film role. Om applied. He got a colourful postcard asking entrants to come for the audition in Lucknow and pay fifty rupees to participate in it," the book says.

However, fifty rupees was a huge sum those days and Puri could not afford it.

"So, his celluloid dreams had to end then and there. The film, which was released a few years later, was called Jiyo Aur Jeeney Do," the book says.

The biography has generated controversy over Puri's relationships with various women, including his maid but author Nandita says she has tried to give an honest picture of the actor's life, which will inspire many.

The foreword of the biography, which releases later this month, has been written by none other than Dirty Dancing star, the late Patrick Swayze, who worked with Puri in the City of Joy.

Richard Attenborough and Ben Kingsley, with whom Puri worked in Gandhi have also contributed to the book, remembering the times spent with Puri on the sets of the 1982 film, which went on to win eight Academy awards.

Puri is known for his role in films like Ardh Satya, Gandhi, Mrityudand, Dev and City of Joy.

The actor has been honoured with the Padma Shri by the Indian government for his contribution to the parallel and commercial films. He is also the recipient of honorary Order of the British Empire for his contribution to British cinema.

Om Puri’s wife exposes his sexual encounters

Veteran actor Om Puri is not a happy man at the moment. What he thought would be beautiful turned out so ugly. He is extremely upset with his wife Nandita for making his sexual encounters public in the media to market her biography Unlikely Hero: The Story Of Om Puri. He said that he couldn’t forgive her. Om, who is currently shooting for a film in Chandigarh, said that he was shocked to hear his wife speaking about the biography she had written on him. Her shocking revelations have upset him like never before, as she talked about his sexual encounters as if those were his biggest achievements. He said that he would not let his wife get away with the mistake.Nandita revealed that her husband had sex with his maid Shanti at the age of 14 and has a liaison with a woman named Laxmi.

The actor is upset because he shared all his dark secrets as any good husband would to his wife but she made the secret part of his life so cheap and mean. He is of the opinion that she should have shared the experiences that are a valuable part of his life. He said that he wouldn’t let her use his private life to sensationalise her book. Om said clarified that the woman named Laxmi, whom Nandita talked about, is a special woman in his life, as she raised him and her brother’s orphaned children. He added that his relationship with her was beautiful and that it is his homage to her loyalty for looking after him unconditionally.He thinks that there are lots of things to talk about him other than this dark side of his life. He revealed that he couldn’t stop her from writing his biography, as she is his wife, though he was well aware that another person is writing one. He added that she has forgotten who she is.He also claimed that he didn’t know that she would use the incidents to sell her book, as she didn’t let him read the manuscript.

Meanwhile, Nadita has her own story to tell. She said that her book is not a pornography but about Om, the man and the actor. He made mistakes like any human do. She admitted that his sexual experiences are an integral part of the book but blamed the journalist who interviewed her for framing her. She claimed that the journo spoke only about Om’s sexual encounters for 20 minutes and then stopped without getting into other part of his life. She said that she was horrified on seeing the show. As expected, she received a call from her angry husband. She revealed that he is angry and so too is her publishers and she.