Amrish Puri

Amrish Puri
Puri at the premiere of The Hero: Love Story of a Spy in 2003
Born(1932-06-22)22 June 1932
Rahon Nawanshahr, Punjab, British India
(present-day Punjab, India)
Died12 January 2005(2005-01-12) (aged 72)
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
OccupationActor
Years active1967–2005
WorksFilmography
Spouse
Urmila Diveker
​
(m. 1957)​
Children2
RelativesChaman Puri (brother)
Madan Puri (brother)
K. L. Saigal (cousin)
Vardhan Puri (grandson)
Signature
Amrish Puri's signature

Amrish Puri[1] (22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005)[2] was an Indian actor, who was one of the most notable and important figures in Indian cinema and theatre. He acted in more than 450 films, established himself as one of the most popular and iconic actors in Indian cinema.[3][4] Puri is remembered for playing various roles in variety of film genres, specially iconic villainous roles in Hindi cinema, as well as international cinema. He reigned supreme in villainous roles in the 1980s and 1990s, his dominating screen presence and distinctive deep voice made him stand out amongst the other villains of the day.[5] Puri was active in both art cinema such as in some of Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalani's films as well as in mainstream cinema. Puri won three Filmfare Awards for Best Supporting Actor in eight nominations. He also holds most Filmfare Award for Best Villain nominations.

While he predominantly worked in Hindi-language films, he had also appeared in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam and Marathi language films. Puri played some of most remembered villainous roles in Vidhaata (1982), Shakti (1982), Hero (1983), Meri Jung (1985), Nagina (1986), Mr. India (1987), Shahenshah (1988), Ram Lakhan (1989), Tridev (1990), Ghayal (1990), Saudagar (1991), Thalapathi (1991), Tahalka (1992), Damini (1993), Karan Arjun (1995), Kaalapani (1996), Jeet (1996), Koyla (1997), Baadshah (1999), Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001), and Nayak: The Real Hero (2001). His notable Telugu films include Kondaveeti Donga (1988), Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari (1990), and Aditya 369 (1991). Puri's performance of the main antagonist Mogambo from Shekhar Kapur's Mr. India (1987) is considered as one of greatest villains of all time in Indian cinema.[6][7] It was reported that he received a salary of ₹1 crore (US$771,890), making him the highest-paid Indian villain actor of all time.[8] His comic role in Chachi 420, that he acted alongside Kamal Haasan was well received by critics.

Puri was a highly prolific actor; he also featured in positive supporting roles, of which he won 3 times Filmfare Awards for Best Supporting Actor. Some of his notable positive roles are Phool Aur Kaante (1991), Gardish (1993), Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995), Ghatak (1996), Diljale (1996) Pardes (1997), Virasat (1997), China Gate (1998), Badal (2000), Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai (2001), Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004) and Hulchul (2004). To Western audiences, he is best known as Mola Ram in the Steven Spielberg and George Lucas Hollywood film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and as Khan in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi (1982).

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference HT1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Amrish Puri is Dead". 12 January 2005. Archived from the original on 9 July 2013.
  3. ^ "More Than 'Mogambo': The Many Shades of Amrish Puri". 23 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Bollywood News, Filmfare Awards, Movie Reviews, Celebrity Photos & Updates".
  5. ^ "Amrish Puri".
  6. ^ "10 Villains from Bollywood We Love to Hate with a Passion". 24 October 2015.
  7. ^ "Best Bollywood Villains All Time: TOP 5". April 2013.
  8. ^ "Movies March 1998". rediff. [dead link]