Indian actor Om Puri dies aged 66

Veteran Indian actor Om Puri, star of British hit East is East, has died aged 66.

The actor suffered a heart attack at his residence in Mumbai early on Friday, reports say.

Om Puri, who acted in both mainstream and art films, was known for his gritty performances in a number of landmark Indian films in the 1980s.

He also appeared in a number of British films, including a cameo in Richard Attenborough's epic on Mahatma Gandhi.

A versatile actor, Puri was known for his roles in Indian, Pakistani, British and Hollywood films. He was awarded an honorary OBE for his contribution to the British film industry in 2004.

Puri, who was born in 1950 in the north Indian state of Haryana, made his film debut in the 1976 film Ghashiram Kotwal.

He became a well-known figure in the Indian film industry in the 1980s before he found international fame in the following decade.

His roles in American and British films included the 1999 British comedy East is East about a Pakistani immigrant adjusting to life in the north of England.

Puri also appeared in City of Joy, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Charlie Wilson's War and most recently starred in The Hundred-Foot Journey alongside Dame Helen Mirren.

At home, Puri was best-known for his performances in critically-acclaimed films like Ardh Satya, Sadgati, Paar and the satirical Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro.

Puri was one of India's truly successful crossover actors, doing films with stars such as Jack Nicholson and Tom Hanks, the BBC's Soutik Biswas said.

His roles in Govind Nihalani's Aakrosh as a tribal man falsely accused of murder and a policeman in Ardh Satya beaten back by the system remain among the finest performances on Indian screen, Biswas added.

Puri is survived by his wife Nandita Puri, who he married in 1993, and their son Ishaan.