The Oscar awards ceremony saw a tribute to the critically-acclaimed actor Om Puri, who passed away in January this year, and that prompted Nawazuddin Siddiqui asking why there has been no homage paid at own Bollywood awards functions. Expressing his anger on his Twitter page, Nawazuddin Siddiqui said it is shameful that not a single word has been said in Om Puri’s praise at Bollywood award functions.
Twitterati joined issue, blaming Bollywood’s “money-mindedness” and fixation with the six-pack stars for the disregard shown to true artistic talent.
Some Twitter users went ahead and spoke what the public thinks of the industry.
While most of the users made a point to tag the Academy's official Twitter handle in their tweets, this one here has asked Bollywood celebrities for their reaction.
At the 89th Academy Awards held this morning, the ‘In Memoriam’ tribute featured Om Puri alongside Hollywood actors like Carrie Fisher, Michael Cimino, Patty Duke, Garry Marshall, Anton Yelchin, Gene Wilder, Mary Tyler Moore, Curtis Hanson and John Hurt. Grammy and Tony-nominated artist Sara Bareilles also paid a musical tribute to Om Puri.
The montage by the Academy was lauded by Bollywood celebrities shortly after the function. Actors like Yami Gautam, Sonu Sood and Richa Chaddha took expressed their delight on Twitter. Nawazuddin Siddiqui went a step ahead and pointed out how it took the Academy to pay tribute to the great actor about whom his own home industry was, shamefully, silent.
In addition to his riveting performances in a number of Indian films like Ardh Satya, Aakrosh, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro and the TV classic ‘Tamas’, Om Puri’s craft also gained a significant audience in the West.
Having played numerous well-received roles in English-language films, beginning with a small role in Richard Attenborough’s Oscar winning 1982 film, ‘Gandhi’, and going on to acclaimed films like ‘City of Joy’, ‘East is East’, ‘Charlie Wilson’s War’, ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ and most recently, ‘The Hundred-Foot Journey’, Om Puri was a well-respected artist in the West.
The legendary actor passed away on January 6, 2017. He was 66 at the time of his death.