Om Shivpuri Biography

Fast Facts

• Met his would-be wife Sudha at Jaipur Radio Station where they worked together
• Directed Tuglaq, a play written by Girish Karnad in 1965 which was first staged in The National School of Drama
• Fell in love with Sudha while they worked together in plays at National School of Drama (NSD) and they married after nine years of waiting in 1968
• Was nicknamed Binnuji at home by his wife because one of his names was Binod
• Started a theatre group Dishantar along with his wife, which did so well that tickets had to be sold in black for almost every show
• Began his film career in 1971 with Mani Kaul's Ashad Ka Ek Din, soon followed by Gulzar's Koshish in 1972
• Was two years younger than Bollywood actor Jeetendra, but played the role of his father in films
• Led the National School of Drama Repertory set up in 1964 in its early years
• Worked in 31 films with Rajesh Khnana as the lead hero
• Was going to direct a film titled Aadhe Adhure which was shelved after he had a fall out with its producer Basu Bhattacharya
• Is the father of the Bollywood actress Ritu Shivpuri and assistant director Vineet Shivpuri