4 min readMumbaiUpdated: Jun 21, 2026 04:01 PM IST
Legendary actor Om Puri enjoyed a career spanning more than four decades. Starting out as a character actor, he went on to carve a niche for himself with his powerful performances. However, his journey to success was far from easy. In a recent conversation with Hindi Rush, Om’s ex-wife Seema Kapoor spoke about the struggles he faced in the early years of his career and how his talent eventually earned the respect of even the industry’s most intimidating stars.
Om Puri’s struggling days
Talking about the early days of Om Puri, Seema Kapoor said, “He faced challenges. When you are new, the seniors are not nice to you. People are egoistic about their money, name and fame, so they target the new person. They humiliate you in different ways. Sometimes you ignore, and sometimes you fight. Even he went through those challenges. When he became a star, he never behaved like that with his juniors, never misbehaved with them.”
Also Read: Om Puri’s first wife says he cheated on her and left her while she was pregnant, sent her Rs 25,000 via secretary after she lost the baby: ‘I was shattered’
Seema further recalled, “Shabana Azmi had once commented about Om Puri Sahab and Naseer Sahab. They were standing, and she said, ‘Tum dono ki aisi shakal leke aane ki himmat kaise hui iss industry main (With such faces, how did you guys muster the courage to be in this industry?)’ That was right, but your talent never lets you down.”
Seema Kapoor also spoke about Om Puri working with veteran actor Raaj Kumar. She said, “He was working with Raaj Kumar sahab till his last days. Puri sahab was in tension; he didn’t disrespect people and couldn’t take disrespect. Raaj Kumar sahab used to be insulting. He would call a hero a junior artist, so Om Puri sahab was tensed. He had thought that if Raaj Kumar told him something, he would leave the film. But due to his personality, craft, and his attitude, Raaj Kumar sahab never dared to insult him. Raaj Kumar sahab would say anything. Some people are like that; he had insulted Kamala Haasan and Zeenat Aman too. Zeenat was the heroine of a film where Raaj Kumar was the character artist, and he told her, ‘You are young and beautiful; why don’t you act in films?’ She was a big actress by then, but he just wanted to insult her. So there are a lot of stories about him.”
Om Puri and Seema Kapoor
Om Puri and Seema Kapoor got married in 1990 after being in a relationship for 11 years. However, their marriage ended in 1993 after Om Puri became involved with Nandita. At the time, Seema was pregnant and later suffered the loss of their child. While the separation left her heartbroken, Om eventually reconnected with her, and the two maintained a cordial relationship until the actor’s death in 2017.
Talking about their relationship in an interview with MidDay, Seema Kapoor said, “Both of us maintained our dignity and respect. Neither he nor I ever badmouthed each other. We have seen the worst times, had the most bitter fights with each other, but never washed dirty linen in public. When you love somebody, you love them in totality. And for me, he was my companion in good and bad times. It’s a void that will never be filled.”
Raaj Kumar, Mehul Kumar and Om Puri on the sets of Marte Dam Tak. (Express archive photo)