Om Puri: An Unlikely Hero’s shocking secrets

Veteran actor Om Puri is upset with his wife, Nandita Puri, for highlighting his sexual life in her book Unlikely Hero: The Story of Om Puri. According to reports the actor has said that the revelations in the book are "cheap".

Nandita, who is a journalist, said in an interview to NDTV's Group Editor Barkha Dutt on her show The Buck Stops Here, "I know that the instinct of a wife to begin with is that of a very protective spouse but don't forget at the end of the day I am a journalist so I have to be somewhere honest to my profession and that was the whole idea of this biography. I wanted to tell a story and I wanted to tell it as honestly as possible."

Apparently, Om Puri is angry at his wife Nandita for writing about his sexual encounters with his 55-year-old maid Shanti at the age of 14. Nandita has also written about his affair with another maid Lakshmi, whom he even wanted to marry.

In the interview to Barkha Dutt, Nandita also said, "When I first married Om, he did tell me this incident about his maid. But I didn't take it very seriously because I think deep down Om was honest enough to confide in me years ago. But I am sure such incidents happen with lots of men who don't normally want to talk about their past. But when I was writing the biography I knew that my son would also read it at some point of time. It was entirely up to me to add this or not. But somewhere I felt if it had to be told it had to told truthfully and honestly. Being a journalist I felt we will put everything aside and just go ahead and tell the story well."

Nandita has also revealed in her biography that her husband was sexually molested at the age of 6.

The biography also talks about his journey from poverty to where he is today. The entire journey where he followed his dreams despite the lack of finances.

According to Nandita the book tells the story about Om Puri the man with all his human flaws, failings, his generosity and also his temper, his gullibility and a lot of things that make him more humane.

Novelist Shobhaa De in her blog has reacted to the whole incident by saying, "In an 'angry' interview to a tabloid this morning, Om has expressed his rage and shock at some of the revelations in his wife's book. Especially the ones that recount his sexual exploits with a series of maids. He has accused Nandita of 'reducing a sacred part' of his life 'to cheap and lurid gossip.' He claims he was not aware of the contents of the book and that his wife did not allow him to read the manuscript."

She further writes "He adds he doesn't want to be in the same league as a Shiney Ahuja. Nandita's response has been equally spirited , while admitting her husband is 'livid'. She says - and it sounds like a well thought through quotable quote - "My book on my husband is a biography, not bloody pornography!" Saccch????"

Shobhaa further adds, "If the miya-biwi jhagda in print and across TV channels is indeed real, and Om was completely in the dark about the contents of the book, there is just one acid test left - will Om show up for the launch and promote this 'cheap and lurid' effort?? Will he participate in all the related marketing activities?? And most importantly - will he stay married to a woman he claims has betrayed his trust and exploited him?"