Amrish Puri - A Tribute To The Spirit Of Villainy

By: Poonam Deviah
Monday, February 19, 2007
His looks were harsh, his eyes commanded obedience, his voice...had depth, law, dominion and sometimes absolutely no mercy. That voice fell silent as the king of villainy slept in eternal bliss on the 12 of January, 2005.

Amrish Puri, born on 22nd June, 1932 ruled the Hindi film industry for nearly 32 years as the emperor of desperado. Most of his movies portrayed him as an unconditional outlaw and it seemed like he was just tailored for it. There were no two ways or other ways to it.

He has done shades of characters like 'Mogambo,' in Mr. India, a loving father in Pardes, Duryodhan in Hum Paanch and many more. But of the many, he has always been a popular bad man. His voice and height (6.2") only seconded it.

He made his debut at the age of 40 in Reshma Aur Shera. Brother of already established actor Madan Puri, he first auditioned as hero in 1954, result- producer rejected him, saying that he had a crude and harsh face. He was in no way a hero material. This worked in his favour and became a blessing in disguise. Had he been chosen then, perhaps the success and appreciation he saw otherwise would have never been there.

After rejection, he joined theatre and lent his voice to several advertisements. When Sunil Dutt took to direction and made Reshma Aur Shera, Amrish Puri entered films. This was the jumpstart to a very fruitful career, which was to stretch over three decades. After his first break the second came through after a long wait. It took a while before he, who by then was a famous stage actor, was cast by ace art filmmaker Shyam Benegal in his films Nishaant, Manthan and Bhumika.

Amrish Puri & Spielberg Amrish Puri was perhaps among the early Indian actors to act in a Hollywood movie, way back in the1980s. It may be recalled that in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi, Puri played Khan. Little did he know then that he was to make a landmark movie with one of Hollywood's most celebrated directors. It all began when Steven Spielberg decided to cast him as Mola Ram in his Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Spielberg was so adamant on casting Amrish Puri that inspite of clashing dates he made all the effort to suit shooting dates with the 'to-be Mola Ram.' Surprisingly when he first heard the script, he was not impressed. It took a good deal of coaxing from Sir Richard Attenborough, before he agreed to go ahead and do the movie; it is history though that he never regretted it. When finally the movie hit the floor along with Harrison Ford and Kate Capshaw, it was a work of genius. The movie is believed to have netted Rs 46 million after a week's run in the US.

The dawn of 12 January 2005 brought an end to this glorious era called Amrish Puri. He suffered brain hemorrhage and died at the Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai He was 72. He slipped into coma after he suffered a blood clot in his brain. He had also supposedly suffered from Malaria and had been undergoing treatment for the same.

Amrish Puri had been cast in close to 200 movies and has given some memorable movies to Indian Cinema. His death has left a void, which will stay forever.