Tom Alter

Tom Alter

Tom Alter, the son and grandson of American Presbyterian missionaries who first came to India in 1916, grew up in north India in the towns of Rajpur and Mussoorie, and studied at Woodstock School. It was while teaching at a school in Jagadhri, Haryana in the early 1970s that Alter picked honed his Hindi and fell in love with the movies, in specific Indian cinema. In that era television was not common in India and so most people went to the movies, often several times a week. Alter was enamored by the films and in June 1972, after noticing a small classified ad in the newspaper, he enrolled at the prestigious prestigious Film and Television Institute of India of Pune. Alter was one of two people selected out of more than 1000 applicants that year and he learned his craft at the FTII, where he studied with the likes of Benjamin Gilani, Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Mithun Chakraborthy and others. After graduating from FTII, Alter headed straight to Bombay and soon got his first break in the Dev-Anand starrer 'Sahib Bahadur' directed by Chetan Anand. His first release, however, was Ramanand Sagar's 'Charas' in which he played the superstar Dharmendra's CID boss. Steady work came to Alter throughout the 1970s and 80s and he worked with luminaries such as V Shantaram, Raj Kapoor, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Manmohan Desai, Manoj Kumar and Satjajit Rai as well as a host of lesser-known directors. He has also acted in regional cinema - Bengali, Assamese, Telegu, Tamil and Kumaoni films. Alter was witness to the coming of television to India and worked on the small screen in a number of popular serials, the biggest of which was the popular drama 'Junoon' which ran for five years. In it, he played the role of the mob lord Keshal Kalsi - KK, as he was famously known - and his performance earned rave reviews. During this same period Alter acted in the ensemble comedy 'Zabaan Sambhalke', another drama called 'Ghutan', and hosted the health-based talk show 'Mere Ghar Aana Zindagi'. Some of his most famous movie roles have been as Musa in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's acclaimed crime drama 'Parinda', Mahesh Bhatt's blockbuster romance 'Aashiqui', and Ketan Mehta's 'Sardar', in which Alter essayed the role of Lord Mountbatten. Alter has also accumulated a body of theatrical work, the most recent having been in the theatrical reproduction of William Dalrymple's 'City of Djinns' and the solo play 'Maulana', based on Maulana Azad for which he has received much critical acclaim. He has also received praise for his role in the art film 'Ocean of An Old Man', which has been screened at film festivals around the world. Among several international assignments was the opportunity to work with Peter O'Toole in the Hollywood film 'One Night With The King'. In addition to acting, Alter has also ventured into direction - he directed a one-shot episode for the short-lived series 'Yule Love Stories' in the mid-1990s - and was a sports journalist in the late 1980s to early 1990s. He has written three books, one non-fiction and two fiction, and in 2008 was awarded the prestigious Padma Shree by the Indian government in recognition for his services to the field of arts and cinema.
Tom Alter

Movies

Out of Time
  • Jun 09, 2021
  • Hindi
A troubled young man, puzzled by his father's mysterious disappearance, goes to a British era mansion along with his friends where he gets stuck in a never ending time loop, only to discover astonishing facts from the past.
Smoke
  • Oct 26, 2018
  • Hindi
Set in Goa, Smoke explores the dark web of drugs, mafia, and power. With the cartels at war, who will survive?
Redrum - A Love Story
  • Aug 09, 2018
  • Hindi
Redrum - A Love Story is a story of a disturbed man who becomes a Rockstar, but even after receiving all the applaud, his complexities and insecurities get the better of him. Daksh, a singer, is doing extremely well up until he falls in love with Aarika. Aarika on attending Daksh's concert is completely swept off of her feet. They instantly fall in love.
2016 The End
  • Oct 05, 2017
  • Hindi
A group of friends decides to live their life to the fullest when they learn that the world is going to end in seven days. However, they get embroiled in a mess, with a gangster tailing them.
Bangistan
  • Aug 06, 2015
  • Hindi
Two blundering terrorists with lofty ideologies, but ordinary talent, on a mission to change the world.
Mangal Pandey
  • Aug 12, 2005
  • Hindi
This is a film about the leader of the 1857 mutiny and his fight against the British rule.
Veer-Zaara
  • Nov 12, 2004
  • Hindi
"Veer-Zaara" is a saga of love, separation, courage, and sacrifice. A love story that is an inspiration and will remain a legend forever.
Hatim
  • Dec 26, 2003
  • Hindi
To save his princess, Hatim accepts a challenge from the demon king. In search of seven answers in seven months, he travels to unknown lands with strange people and faces various struggles on the way.
Aadhar
  • Dec 31, 2001
  • Marathi
Janaki, a single earning member of a family of six, goes through a series of financial and familial problems when different members from her family face one problem after another. Being the support system of her doomed family, will she ever find a moment for herself?
Champion
  • Dec 22, 2000
  • Hindi
Rajveer, a police officer, is tasked with protecting a nine-year-old heir, Abbas. However, the job gets complicated when Nazir, a dangerous criminal, seeks to harm the child.