From Yasmin Nair: Om Puri has died, at 66. I was lucky enough to be in India when he and his cohort of fellow actors, like Naseeruddin Shah, Smita Patil, Shabhana Azmi, and so many others were making their mark in a new and exciting kind of alternative Indian cinema. Those were heady years for anyone interested in film. We all knew we were at the precipice of something entirely new and daring, and Om Puri’s talent as an actor shone through as he helped redefine both acting and cinema itself.