Politicos remember Om Puri 'the ultimate non hero of Indian films'

New Delhi [India], Jan. 6 (ANI): The leaders of various political parties on Friday condoled the demise of Bollywood veteran Om Puri and remembered him as the ultimate non hero of Indian films and one of the finest actors. Janata Dal (United) leader Pawan Verma remembered Puri as a most unlikely candidate for the stardom he received and yet one of the finest actors. "Om Puri was the ultimate non hero of Indian films," he told ANI. Expressing similar sentiments, Sanjay Raut of the Shiv Sena said the roles played by him in various films will always be remembered. "He was a great actor. He was a popular artist of the Hindi cinema," he said. The 66-year-old died of a heart attack at his residence in Mumbai this morning. The veteran actor, who starred in several award-winning Indian movies and also featured in crossover ventures, was born on October 18, 1950, to a Punjabi family in Ambala, Haryana. Om Puri, who studied at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune, made his film debut in the 1976 Marathi film 'Ghashiram Kotwal'. The actor, who had more than 100 films to his credits, was also an alumnus of the 1973 class of the National School of Drama (NSD) where Naseeruddin Shah was a co-student. He was honoured with Padma Shri and two National Film Awards during his acting career that stretched for more than four decades. (ANI)