Indian & Pakistani Fans Pay Tribute To Om Puri In Toronto!
Indian & Pakistani theatre artists pay tribute to Om Puri in Toronto, Canada. The group celebrates Om Puri's close ties to the city as his English films have premiered in Toronto.
A
large
number
of
theatre
artists
and
writers
from
India
and
Pakistan
paid
rich
tributes
to
actor
Om
Puri
in
Toronto,
Canada.
They
recalled
his
deep
association
with
the
city
as
some
of
Om
Puri's
English
movies
'Such
a
Long
Journey'
and
'West
is
West'
premiered
at
the
Toronto
International
Film
Festival.
Rajinder
Saini,
who
founded
the
Punjabi
International
Film
Academy
Awards
in
2012
and
who
was
a
personal
friend
of
the
actor,
recalled
how
Om
Puri
offered
him
support
for
the
start
of
the
festival
in
Toronto.
"Om
Puri
was
a
true
friend
indeed
as
he
went
out
of
his
way
to
make
the
first
Punjabi
film
festival
a
success.
He
always
stayed
with
our
family
whenever
he
was
in
Toronto,"
said
Saini.
Saini
also
recalled
his
last
long
chat
with
Om
Puri
on
the
phone
after
the
actor's
TV
remarks
on
Indian
soldiers
created
a
major
controversy.
"In
a
friendly
(way),
I
scolded
him
for
creating
unnecessary
controversies.
He
was
gracious
enough
to
admit
his
mistake
and
he
went
to
give
Rs
10
lakh
to
the
widow
of
the
soldier,"
recalled
Saini.
Rajinder
Saini
also
criticised
the
Pakistani
media
for
spreading
rumours
about
the
cause
of
Om
Puri's
death.
Pakistani
writer
Tahir
Gora
paid
his
tributes
to
Om
Puri
by
describing
him
as
an
artist
who
transcended
boundaries.
Some
of
the
speakers,
who
knew
Om
Puri
since
his
days
as
a
struggling
theatre
artist
in
Patiala,
said
he
was
the
first-ever
Indian
actor
to
make
it
to
Hollywood
from
theatre.
"He
had
a
booming
voice
and
his
earthy
Punjabi
touched
us," said
one
of
the
speakers.
Om
Puri's
first
wife
Seema
Kapoor
also
sent
a
video
message
to
the
gathering.