“Puri is such a captivating actor I’d pay to watch him sit on a bus bench and grouch about the weather “– John Patterson, The Guardian
Om Puri is one of the finest actors of his generation. Over four decades, Puri has juggled a career that spans the stage, mainstream Bollywood films, art house cinema, and British and American film and television.
On Sunday, June 14, Indian Summer Festival presents “An Evening with Om Puri” at SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts in Downtown Vancouver. Om Puri will speak about his life in cinema and his artistic journeys as an internationally acclaimed actor.
Om Puri is best known for his unconventional character roles in international and Indian films like Don, The Hundred-Foot Journey, East is East, Hera Pheri, Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, Maqbool, Rang De Basanti, and The Reluctant Fundamentalist.
He brings a gritty complexity and political consciousness to his characters in films like Arohan, Ardh Satya, Mirch Masala, Dharavi, and Maachis. The actor has also featured in several Punjabi films, including Chaan Pardesee with his late brother, Amrish Puri, Long Da Lishkara, Bhaji in Problem, and as the narrator for Chaar Sahibzaade.
Born in Ambala, Haryana, Puri graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India and the National School of Drama where he studied Brecht, Ibsen and Shakespeare. His international breakthrough was opposite Patrick Swayze in Roland Joffe’s City of Joy.
Shortly after, he starred in the Hanif Kureishi-scripted My Son the Fanatic with a brilliant portrayal of a taxi driver who fears he is losing his son to the grip of Islamic fundamentalism. Puri gained wide international recognition for his BAFTA nominated role as George Khan in the 1999 comedy-drama film East Is East, and its 2010 sequel West Is West.
His recent starring role in The Hundred-Foot Journey is the latest in a series of films that establish Puri’s screen image as an affectionate but gruff patriarch coming up against the wall between generations and cultures.
“An Evening With Om Puri” takes place on Sunday, June 14 at 6pm at 149 West Hastings St.
Tickets are $25 for general seating and $50 for preferred seating. Visit indiansummerfest.ca to learn more and buy tickets.
Goldcorp Centre for the Arts
Simon Fraser University
149 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 5K3
