Naseeruddin Shah & Om Puri Movies Together List — 22 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-04 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri appeared together in 22 Hindi films between 1968 and 2015. Their highest-rated collaboration was Aakrosh (1980 — 8.1/10). Films span Genesis (1968) through Welcome Back (2015).
The Naseeruddin Shah & Om Puri partnership
After 11 years apart, they came back together for Shaayad (1979). They didn't share a set between 1968 and 1979. 1984 was their peak — 3 films in twelve months.
Their work runs across 6 decades of Hindi cinema. From Genesis (1968) to Welcome Back (2015).
The shape of the work
The 1960s belonged to Genesis; the 2010s to Welcome Back. Naseeruddin Shah acted in every film; Om Puri acted in all of them.
Partnership facts
- They first met on the set of Genesis (1968) — a student film by M.S. Sathyu. Naseeruddin Shah was a 17-year-old extra; Om Puri was a 19-year-old bit player. Neither had any idea they'd become the defining acting duo of Indian parallel cinema.
- In Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983), Om Puri played the loud, corrupt builder Tarneja. Naseeruddin played the nervous photographer. The trick? Puri would deliberately over-project his voice in every take, forcing Shah to go even quieter and more internal — making their scenes together feel like a pressure cooker about to burst.
- Their double-act in Mirch Masala (1987) — where Puri plays the sadistic subedar and Shah the meek clerk — directly inspired Anurag Kashyap's casting of Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Pankaj Tripathi in Gangs of Wasseypur. Kashyap has said he wanted that same 'one loud, one coiled' energy.
- They never hung out socially. Naseer once said they'd meet only on set, exchange a nod, do the scene, and leave. No dinners, no phone calls. But on the sets of Chakra (1981), Puri would quietly leave a cup of tea outside Shah's vanity van every morning — and never mention it.
- "Om was the only actor who could make me forget I was acting. When he looked at me in a scene, I wasn't Naseeruddin Shah anymore — I was whoever the script said I was." — Naseeruddin Shah, in a 2015 interview with The Hindu.
22 films across 6 decades
The 1960s accounted for 1 film.
The 1970s accounted for 1 film, averaging 6.6/10.
The 1980s brought 11 films together, anchored by Aakrosh (8.1/10).
The 1990s accounted for 3 films, averaging 4.5/10.
The 2000s brought 4 films together, anchored by Maqbool (7.4/10).
The 2010s accounted for 2 films, averaging 4.7/10.
- Genesis0
- Shaayad
- Aakrosh
- Sparsh
- China Gate
- Triyacharitra
- Maqbool
- Hey Ram
- Welcome Back
- Dirty Politics
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
22 films across 47 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 2 languages, with Hindi being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
48% of Naseeruddin Shah's screen credits are with Om Puri.
Genesis was Naseeruddin Shah's acting debut.
After Welcome Back, Naseeruddin Shah went on to appear in 24 more films, including Badla (2019) and The Tashkent Files (2019).
Genesis was Om Puri's acting debut.
After Welcome Back, Om Puri went on to appear in 12 more films, including Project Marathwada (2016) and Partition: 1947 (2017).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Naseeruddin Shah & Om Puri's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Paresh Rawal appears alongside them in 6 films — practically a third lead. They worked with the same 8 people again and again — a small repertory company.
6
6
5
33
3
3
32
22
2
22
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
