Amrish Puri

Born: 22 June, 1932 in Punjab

Died on: 12 January, 2005

Biography: He was the brother of actor Madan Puri and son of Lal Nihal Chand and Ved Kaur. Puri came to Mumbai to become an actor, but he failed his first screen test. This led him to take up a regular job for some time, but he did not quit; instead he started acting in stage plays of Satyadev Dubey. He earned much appreciation as a stage actor and also won the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1979).

Stage acting opened the doors of advertising and eventually films. In 1970, at the age of 40, he got his first break with the film Reshma Aur Shera. However this was released after his other film Prem Pujari. He also starred as a villain or did supporting roles in Shyam Benegal’s and Govind Nihalani’s films; to name a few, Nishant, Manthan, Bhumika and Party.

Amrish Puri soon got established as one of the most eminent villains in the film industry. His role in Mr. India was very prominent and his dialogue “Mogambo Khush Hua” went on to become very popular with the masses. Another Hollywood film, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) where he is seen as Mola Ram also made him a favourite of directors to present him in negative roles.

Apart from villainous roles, Puri appeared in many positive supporting roles. For instance, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge where he plays Baldev Singh (1995) and Chori Chori Chupke Chupke portrayed him as a good guy. He has won many awards including Filmfare and other International Film Festival awards for the Best Supporting Actor like for movies such as Ghatak, Virasat and Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda.

Puri was talented enough to pull through many negative roles with ease and dexterity. He has worked in as many as 400 films and will always be remembered for his predominant screen presence and bold and deep voice quality.