Om Puri sorry for 'anpadh MPs' remark

Veteran Bollywood actor Om Puri has tendered an unconditional apology to Parliament after facing privilege notice for slamming MPs during social activist Anna Hazare's Ramlila ground agitation in August. Puri has also given a written undertaking that in future he will maintain good
behaviour and conduct before Parliament and its members.

Seeking pardon for his unintended mistake, Puri, a Padmashree, said in his letter to Lok Sabha, "I have highest regards for Parliament and cannot imagine saying or doing anything which would undermine the dignity and prestige of Parliament and its members."

Eleven members had moved a privilege motion against Puri, after he dubbed parliamentarians as "anpadh (illiterate)" and said "sab neta chor hain (all politicians are thieves)" in his now infamous speech in Hazare's support.

While a privilege motion against the actor is pending before Lok Sabha, sources in the Parliament told HT, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar may close the case and pardon Puri.

While Team Anna's pressure tactics have often come under attack for undermining democratic system and institutions, Puri, who was invited by Team Anna to the Ramlila Gropund agitation, has also accepted the supremacy of Parliament: "I am a law abiding citizen having full faith in the democratic institutions and the supremacy of Parliament."

During the monsoon session, a privilege motion was moved against Om Puri and Kiran Bedi for using "derogatory and defamatory" language against politicians. During the last session, the Lok Sabha speaker said the issue was under her consideration before the session came to an end.

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 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.

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.