Hindi cinema has always given talented souls to perform their heart out, make a deep connection with the audience at large, and frame multiple characters, which always stay alive within our realm of imagination. When we think of actors who played villains in Hindi cinema, Amrish Puri’s name definitely comes to our mind. He had that kind of impact. He played each character differently but his evil laugh was common in all. Born in Jalandhar, Punjab to Lala Nihal Chand Puri and Ved Kaur, Amrish Puri was the younger brother of late actors Chaman Puri and Madan Puri.
He also had two younger siblings Chandrakanta, and Harish Puri. After graduating from B.M College, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, Puri moved to Bombay to try his luck in the world of glamour. He commenced his career with theatre and frequently performed at the Prithvi Theatre in Mumbai. In 1979, he won the Sangeet Natak Academy Award, which is the highest form of Indian recognition given to practising artists. It’s hard to believe that he failed his first screen test, and instead found a job with the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation Ministry of Labour and Employment. He ended up being a part of 450 films between 1967 and 2005.
Through the 70s, Puri often worked in supporting roles, usually as the henchman of the main villain. In the 80s and 90s, there were hardly any films which didn’t have him playing the role of a villain. All and all, he gave back to back hits. Here are the mentions of some of his popular silver screen characters, which are till date alive within the hearts of the audience. Mr India – Here’s him playing Mogambo.
His Legend
He was one of the main reasons for Mr India to be such a big hit. ‘Mogambo khush hua’ still lies afresh in the memories of one and all. Another movie was Damini. He played a mean lawyer in this film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. In Karan Arjun – He played Thakur Durjan Singh in this revenge film which also had a dose of punar janam. He is responsible for killing Karan and Arjun. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge – A rare film in which he didn’t play the villain, but his character was still hated for being Kajol’s orthodox father. He was a tough nut to crack person and Shah Rukh Khan did all that he could to impress him. In the movie, Vishwatma – He played the main villain in the multi-starrer film which also starred Sunny Deol, Naseeruddin Shah, Divya Bharti and Chunky Pandey. Asghar Jurhad was his character’s name.
Ghayal – Another film which starred Sunny Deol and Amrish Puri. They were quite a pair in the 90s. Amrish played an evil businessman named Balwant Rai in this one. Ram Lakhan – This film saw Amrish playing the exploitative Bishambar Nath who exploits one of Anil Kapoor’s characters. Anil played a double role in this film.
His Movies
The legendary director Steven Spielberg once said, “Amrish is my favourite villain. The best the world has ever produced and ever will!”. Such was the level of the Mogambo of India. An Indian film and theatre actor, Amrish Puri was one of India’s most iconic stars, mostly remembered for portraying Mogambo in Mr India, Bhujang in Tridev, Barrister Chadda in Damini, Thakur Durjan Singh in Karan Arjun, King Raja in Koyla, Chaudhry Baldev Singh in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Mola Ram in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Mayor Ashraf Ali in Gadar: Ek Prem Katha.
In a career ranging from 1967 to 2005, Amrish Puri acted in almost 400 movies, winning several Filmfare and other awards. In January 2005, after an illustrious career, the actor passed away in Mumbai. His death was due to cerebral haemorrhage resulting from complications of myelodysplastic syndrome. We remember him wholeheartedly for his immense contributions and Bollywood industry will always have gratitude to this legendary man.
