Om Puri’s final years were ‘pathetic, tragic, heartbreaking,’ ex-wife reflects on his hardships: ‘He cleaned dishes at a dhaba’ | Bollywood News

Late actor Om Puri’s ex-wife Seema Kapoor reflected on their turbulent relationship, and said that he didn’t deserve the hardships and humiliation that he suffered in his final years. They were married from 1991 to 1993, when he confessed to having fallen for another woman. They reconnected in his final years, after he suffered health concerns and was cornered legally his second wife. Seema said that she forgave him when he apologised for past misdeeds, but made it clear that he deserved more than to be categorised alongside raps and murderers in court.
In an interview with Galatta India, Seema Kapoor said, “The last 10 years of his life were very tragic. He didn’t deserve it. He had worked so hard in his life. He had struggled without compromising on his ideals. He never had any support in his youth. He would cycle to school, he cleaned dishes in a dhaba. Somehow, someone promised to pay his fees when he was admitted to the FTII, and then, at the last moment, they backed out. And yet he managed to pull through, and he eventually made a name for himself internationally.”
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 ba: ‘I was shattered’
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Seema said that it would be unfair to sully his name because of their relationship. “He can’t even defend himself now. I never made our relationship troubles public. I left him. And I chose to forgive him when he apologised. It takes a large heart to apologise. If I didn’t slander him then, why should I slander him now?” she said, adding that he suffered a paralytic attack during his second marriage, which is what prompted him to make amends with her.
Reflecting on the legal issues that he found himself entangled in towards the end of his life, Seema said, “When he recovered, he told me that he was insecure about how he’d survive his twilight years, because he wasn’t being taken care of. My brother, Annu Kapoor, warned me to be careful, and that he was only looking for someone to look after him like a nurse. Because of his poor health, he became depressed, and he would take pills for it.”
Seema said that Om Puri wasn’t a calculating man. “He deserves sympathy, not criticism. What he went through in the final 10 years of his life was pathetic, tragic, heartbreaking. He was made to go to court, and made to rub shoulders with murderers and raps. Imagine what he must have gone through,” she said.