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
Dil Vil Pyar Vyar
Tells the story of three friends Krish Kumar, Hrithik Mittal and Devdarshan Suri alias Dev, who all are from different walks of life as they strive to win the battle of life consisting of hitting it big in the music industry and to cope with the short-comings in their romance.…
Songs
Ab Ke Saawan Mein
Barsaat Bhi Aakar Chali Gayi
Goom Hai Kisi Ke Pyar Mein
Kehna Hai, Kehna Hai
Kya Janu Sajan Hotee Hai Kya Gham Kee Sham
Mere Samnewalee Khidkee Me
O Hansinee Meree Hansinee
O Hasina Julfowalee Jane Jahan
Rat Kalee Ek Khwab Me Aayee
Tere Bina Jindagi Se Koi
Tum Bin Jaaoon Kahan
Yado Kee Barat Niklee Hai Aaj
Ye Jo Mohabbat Hai
Aashiqui
Things are not nice for both Rahul and Anu Verghese; with Rahul having a stressful family life to deal with and Anu; often being ill-treated by her hostel supervisor Arnie Campbell which makes her run away time and again. Both meet with each other and fall in love only to…
Aatank
Jesu and Peter are childhood friends who live in a coastal village in India and depend on fishing as their livelihood. The community is oppressed by a powerful gangster named Alphonso. Jesu is an orphan, while Peter is brought up by his aunt and uncle, after the passing away of…
Amar Akbar Anthony
A ex-convict must flee his mob boss, leaving his family to fend for themselves. His wife goes blind and his children are abandoned. They are adopted by a Hindu policeman, a Muslim tailor, and a Catholic priest. The Hindu-raised son becomes a policeman in his turn; his Muslim-raised brother becomes…
Sahib Bahadur
In a small town, situated in a picturesque Indian valley, lives a corrupt Deputy collector, Hare Murari, an equally corrupt Police Superintendent, Pasupathi; a doctor; a Judge; & Professor Rampyare. These officials always ensure that no one gets anything done without their permission, thus ensuring that their palms are adequately…
Life Ki Toh Lag Gayi
Life Mein Hungama Hai
Asambhav
Adit, played by Arjun Rampal, is in the Indian army. When the Indian president is kidnapped, Adit is sent undercover to rescue the president and his daughter. Adit becomes a journalist for IndiaTimes, and manages to make his way to Switzerland with the help of a police officer called Bhatnagar.…
Bangistan
Bangistan is a whip smart and uproarious satire on fundamentalism and the story of two unlikely terrorists, the antitheses of each other, with a common destructive goal. Concerned by the unrest in the name of religion, Subcontinental leaders of Muslims and Hindus, the Imam and the Shankaracharya, announce that they’re…
Nastik
Shankar (Amitabh Bachchan) grows up as a Nastik (athiest) because his father got murdered by Tiger and his mother and sister got torched in their house and blamed God for doing nothing. After his father, mother and sister got killed, he decided to bring justice himself and the child Shankar…
Vidhaata
When a Police inspector is killed by a band of thugs, his grieving father Samsher Singh seeks justice. Pratap Singh has left behind a pregnant widow, who dies in chidbirth, leaving Samsher to bring up the child Kunal. The transformation of Samsher Singh (a locomotive engine driver) into Sobhraj, multi…
Yahaan
It is the story Five students studying in the Government school in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, India; have their aspirations and dreams. And Samuel (Tom Alter), a British who did not leave India after independence, teaches History to students in school and helps students as their guide. Ali (Saksham Dayma) helps…
Parinda
Brothers Kishan and Karan grow up on the streets of Bombay.Kishan joins hands with criminal Anna to give better education to Karan. Inspector Prakash friend of Karan knows about Anna’s activities but doesn’t have proof to arrest him he is killed in front of Karan.Prakash’s sister Paro childhood love of…
Jalwa
Kapil’s (Naseeruddin Shah) younger brother, Buntu, dies as a result of a drug overdose. Kapil vows to put an end to drugs and drug-dealers, by joining the police. He soon attains the title of C.I.D. Inspector. He lives in Bombay with his mom (Kamini Kaushal). One day his friend from…
Fun Facts
Speaks fluent Hindi and English
Is an Indian actor of American decent
Wife Carrol Evan acted along side Tom in Chamelee Memsaab in 1979. His son Jamie debuted as an actor in 2008 with the film Ocean Of A Old Man.
Cousin of author Stephen Alter.
Daughter in law's name is Meha Bhardwaj Alter. She is a reporter for CMM-IBN.
Son in law name is Kevin Burtram.
Brother's name is John Copely Alter.
Tom Alter dubbed for Jeevan's twin brother's role in Amar Akbar Anthony.
Son Jamie Alter is also a actor.
Wrote a novel titled Rerun at Rialto. He originally wanted to make it as a film. When he could not find any producers he turned it into a novel. In 2015, he finally was able to get finance and start the film. Tom was going to direct the venture. He signed Sharmila Tagore and Manoj Kumar in a special appearance. The film was shelved even before they could start shooting..
Was well versed with Hindi a day Urdu.
Debut film was Charas 1976.
Was also a sports journalist and first ever celebrity he introduced was Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar.
After seeing Rajesh Khanna's Acadiana 1969 he decided to be an actor.
Elder brother and sister as well as daughter are educationist.