Nandita Puri

NANDITA PURI was born in Kolkata. She studied in both Kolkata and Mumbai, majoring in English Literature, before working as a writer and journalist with several newspapers such as The Telegraph, The Statesman, The Times of India and The Reader’s Digest among others. For nearly a decade, she wrote two popular weekly columns on cinema—one titled Potpuri for Mid-Day and the other for the Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar called Khaas Chehre. Nandita also worked as a broadcast journalist for All India Radio and Radio Network in Kolkata. She was a member of the script committee for the National Film Development Corporation and Children’s Film Society of India as well as a TEDx Speaker. She first published a collection of short stories titled Nine on Nine, which was critically acclaimed and very well-received. This was followed by her debut novel, Two Worlds. Her biography of her late husband and internationally acclaimed actor, Om Puri, titled Unlikely Hero: Om Puri is a bestseller, and has been translated into several Indian languages. Nandita has also written for television and feature films, in addition to a number of documentaries and shorts. In 2017, she launched the Om Puri Foundation at the 70th Cannes Film Festival in memory of her husband to carry forward his legacy and philosophy. Currently, she chairs the Om Puri Foundation.