Bollywood Masala Mix
Amrish Puri: Bollywood's iconic villain who wore many hats
Amrish Lal Puri was an iconic Indian actor who appeared primarily in negative roles in Hindi movies. His most remembered roles are Mogambo in Mr India (1987) and Mola Ram in the Hollywood film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984).
He played character roles and was well-known as a villain. His striking bass voice, the ability to extend his eyes widely out of their eyelids during climactic scenes and outsize acting style made him a convincing villain in even the most melodramatic movies.
Puri was born in Nawanshahr to Lala Nihal Chand and Ved Kaur. He had four siblings, elder brothers Chaman Puri and Madan Puri (both of whom also became actors), younger brother Harish Puri and elder sister Chandrakanta.
He graduated from B.M. College in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.
When Amrish reached Mumbai his brother Madan Puri was already an established actor, known for playing villain roles. Amrish failed his first screen test and had to find a job with LIC.
Meanwhile he started performing at the Prithvi Theatre, in plays written by Satyadev Dubey, eventually becoming well-known as stage actor and winning the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1979. This theatre recognition soon led to work in television ads and eventually to films at the age of 40.
He went on to work in Hindi, Kannada, Hollywood, Punjabi, Telugu and Tamil films. Though he was successful in all of these industries, he is best known for his work in Bollywood cinema. He has appeared in over four hundred movies. His dominating screen presence and booming voice made him stand out amongst a sea of actors.
In 1970 he appeared in his first film, [Prem Pujari] although the first film he had signed for was [Reshma Aur Sheraaa] which released in 1971.
This was followed by many villain or supporting roles in numerous art films such as Shyam Benegal's Nishant, Manthan, and Bhumika and Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda. He also appeared in Govind Nihalani's film, Party in 1984.
He attracted a great deal of attention for his work in the 1987 hit film Mr. India, directed by Shekhar Kapur. He played the evil Mogambo, who encouraged his underlings with the phrase, Mogambo khush hua (Mogambo is pleased). The phrase became very popular and remains one of his most famous dialogues.
He became a staple of Hindi films in the 1980s playing mostly villainous roles. He also went on to play many positive supporting roles, including his famous role as Baldev Singh in the Indian blockbuster Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995).
While he is best known for his work as a villain, he has also played the "good guy" at times. He acted as Group Captain Varghese, a Malayali officer in the Indian Air Force based movie Vijeta. He was a kind-hearted American businessman in Pardes (1997) and a genial grandfather in the film Chori Chori Chupke Chupke (2001).
His last film was Kachchi sadak. The film was released a few days after his death.
He is known to international audiences for his roles as Khan in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi (1982) and as the main antagonist Mola Ram in the Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984).
He starred as the sadistic jailor in Kalapani in which co-acted Padmashri Mohanlal, the Megastar of Malayalam industry.
He is best known in Punjabi cinema for his role as the landlord villain Joginder Singh in the legendary film Chan Pardesi (1980). He also starred as the villain Zalam Singh in the religious Punjabi film Sat Sri Akal (1977). After twenty years, he returned to Punjabi cinema to make a brief appearance as the Sufi Saint in the acclaimed film Shaheed Uddham Singh (2000).
He also appeared in Telugu movies such as Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari, Major Chandrakanth, Aditya-369, Kondaveeti Donga, Aswamedham, Aakhari Poratam etc.
He appeared in the Tamil film Dalapathi (1991), directed by Mani Ratnam, opposite Rajnikanth and Mammootty, Tamil and Malayalam superstars respectively. After Dalapathi, Amrish Puri made his second and last appearance in the Rajinkanth's film Baba (2002) in which he played the role of an evil tantrik who helps politicians and other evil elements to succeed in their hideous schemes.
He acted in some Kannada movies during the early days of his career. He played the hero in a black & white Kannada movie Kaadu.
He married Urmila Divekar on 5 January 1957, at the Shri Krishna Temple in Wadala. The couple have two children, son Rajeev Puri and daughter Namrata Puri. He has four grandchildren, Sachi, Harsh Vardhan, Shantanu Bagwe and Krish Bagwe.
Amrish had a passion for collecting hats, and bought a hat or two on every trip abroad. He had a collection of over 200 hats from across the world. Amrish was a very religious person by heart and a Shiva devotee.
He died in Mumbai in 2005 after a brain hemorrhage at the age of 72. His autobiography The Act of Life was published in 2006 and is seen as the document of the cinema of his times.
He played character roles and was well-known as a villain. His striking bass voice, the ability to extend his eyes widely out of their eyelids during climactic scenes and outsize acting style made him a convincing villain in even the most melodramatic movies.
Puri was born in Nawanshahr to Lala Nihal Chand and Ved Kaur. He had four siblings, elder brothers Chaman Puri and Madan Puri (both of whom also became actors), younger brother Harish Puri and elder sister Chandrakanta.
He graduated from B.M. College in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.
When Amrish reached Mumbai his brother Madan Puri was already an established actor, known for playing villain roles. Amrish failed his first screen test and had to find a job with LIC.
Meanwhile he started performing at the Prithvi Theatre, in plays written by Satyadev Dubey, eventually becoming well-known as stage actor and winning the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1979. This theatre recognition soon led to work in television ads and eventually to films at the age of 40.
He went on to work in Hindi, Kannada, Hollywood, Punjabi, Telugu and Tamil films. Though he was successful in all of these industries, he is best known for his work in Bollywood cinema. He has appeared in over four hundred movies. His dominating screen presence and booming voice made him stand out amongst a sea of actors.
In 1970 he appeared in his first film, [Prem Pujari] although the first film he had signed for was [Reshma Aur Sheraaa] which released in 1971.
This was followed by many villain or supporting roles in numerous art films such as Shyam Benegal's Nishant, Manthan, and Bhumika and Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda. He also appeared in Govind Nihalani's film, Party in 1984.
He attracted a great deal of attention for his work in the 1987 hit film Mr. India, directed by Shekhar Kapur. He played the evil Mogambo, who encouraged his underlings with the phrase, Mogambo khush hua (Mogambo is pleased). The phrase became very popular and remains one of his most famous dialogues.
He became a staple of Hindi films in the 1980s playing mostly villainous roles. He also went on to play many positive supporting roles, including his famous role as Baldev Singh in the Indian blockbuster Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995).
While he is best known for his work as a villain, he has also played the "good guy" at times. He acted as Group Captain Varghese, a Malayali officer in the Indian Air Force based movie Vijeta. He was a kind-hearted American businessman in Pardes (1997) and a genial grandfather in the film Chori Chori Chupke Chupke (2001).
His last film was Kachchi sadak. The film was released a few days after his death.
He is known to international audiences for his roles as Khan in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi (1982) and as the main antagonist Mola Ram in the Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984).
He starred as the sadistic jailor in Kalapani in which co-acted Padmashri Mohanlal, the Megastar of Malayalam industry.
He is best known in Punjabi cinema for his role as the landlord villain Joginder Singh in the legendary film Chan Pardesi (1980). He also starred as the villain Zalam Singh in the religious Punjabi film Sat Sri Akal (1977). After twenty years, he returned to Punjabi cinema to make a brief appearance as the Sufi Saint in the acclaimed film Shaheed Uddham Singh (2000).
He also appeared in Telugu movies such as Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari, Major Chandrakanth, Aditya-369, Kondaveeti Donga, Aswamedham, Aakhari Poratam etc.
He appeared in the Tamil film Dalapathi (1991), directed by Mani Ratnam, opposite Rajnikanth and Mammootty, Tamil and Malayalam superstars respectively. After Dalapathi, Amrish Puri made his second and last appearance in the Rajinkanth's film Baba (2002) in which he played the role of an evil tantrik who helps politicians and other evil elements to succeed in their hideous schemes.
He acted in some Kannada movies during the early days of his career. He played the hero in a black & white Kannada movie Kaadu.
He married Urmila Divekar on 5 January 1957, at the Shri Krishna Temple in Wadala. The couple have two children, son Rajeev Puri and daughter Namrata Puri. He has four grandchildren, Sachi, Harsh Vardhan, Shantanu Bagwe and Krish Bagwe.
Amrish had a passion for collecting hats, and bought a hat or two on every trip abroad. He had a collection of over 200 hats from across the world. Amrish was a very religious person by heart and a Shiva devotee.
He died in Mumbai in 2005 after a brain hemorrhage at the age of 72. His autobiography The Act of Life was published in 2006 and is seen as the document of the cinema of his times.
made with female protagonists, and it’s really
exciting because, finally, good and amazing roles are being written keeping women in mind. I am very happy to be part of this change and to be able to do those kind of roles,”
says Bollywood actor Sonakshi Sinha.
Success has ruined more people than failure, believes actress Sonakshi Sinha, who says she neither shouts from the rooftop when her films do well, nor does she sit in the dark and cry over her movie debacles.
“I have been brought up in a way that I treat success and failure in the same way,” the actor said while promoting her forthcoming film Noor.
“Somebody once said, ‘success has ruined more people than failure’. So it’s very important to learn from mistakes and not dwell on them. When I had my huge successes, I never got on to a rooftop and shouted that my films are a hit; and in the case of failures, I don’t sit in a corner and cry about them.
“You move on and do your next film,” added Sonakshi.
The 29-year-old, who is the daughter of actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha and Poonam Sinha, made her debut with Dabangg, a film that starred Salman Khan.
Subsequently, she delivered hits like Rowdy Rathore and Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty and a female-driven film like Akira. She also tried her hand at a different genre with Lootera, which gave her a chance to show her range as an actor.
She will next be seen playing a journalist in Noor, scheduled for a worldwide release on April 21.“I feel my journey in Bollywood has been great. Some of the initial roles I did have put me in a position today where I shoulder a film like Akira by myself. I have played two title roles and it is really exciting to be able to do that.Honestly, the films that I have done in the past have put me in a position that I can do roles like Noor today,” she said.
She is also glad that the industry is changing in a way that’s favourable for women. “We are moving in a direction where films are being made with female protagonists, and it’s really exciting because, finally, good and amazing roles are being written keeping women in mind. I am very happy to be part of this change and to be able to do those kind of roles,” she added.
Directed by Sunhil Sippy, Noor is a crime thriller-comedy adapted from Pakistani novel Karachi, You’re Killing Me!.
The novel centres on a 20-year-old reporter, Ayesha Khan, living in Karachi, her misadventures and finding a nice lover. However, the film is set in Mumbai.
Asked about how this cross-cultural exchange between India and Pakistan can help, she said: “We are just here to entertain people and that’s our purpose. It’s an entertaining film taken from the book with the only purpose to entertain and nothing else.”
The message she wants the audience to take is: “Your voices are important. Youth has the power to make a difference.”
“I have been brought up in a way that I treat success and failure in the same way,” the actor said while promoting her forthcoming film Noor.
“Somebody once said, ‘success has ruined more people than failure’. So it’s very important to learn from mistakes and not dwell on them. When I had my huge successes, I never got on to a rooftop and shouted that my films are a hit; and in the case of failures, I don’t sit in a corner and cry about them.
“You move on and do your next film,” added Sonakshi.
The 29-year-old, who is the daughter of actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha and Poonam Sinha, made her debut with Dabangg, a film that starred Salman Khan.
Subsequently, she delivered hits like Rowdy Rathore and Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty and a female-driven film like Akira. She also tried her hand at a different genre with Lootera, which gave her a chance to show her range as an actor.
She will next be seen playing a journalist in Noor, scheduled for a worldwide release on April 21.“I feel my journey in Bollywood has been great. Some of the initial roles I did have put me in a position today where I shoulder a film like Akira by myself. I have played two title roles and it is really exciting to be able to do that.Honestly, the films that I have done in the past have put me in a position that I can do roles like Noor today,” she said.
She is also glad that the industry is changing in a way that’s favourable for women. “We are moving in a direction where films are being made with female protagonists, and it’s really exciting because, finally, good and amazing roles are being written keeping women in mind. I am very happy to be part of this change and to be able to do those kind of roles,” she added.
Directed by Sunhil Sippy, Noor is a crime thriller-comedy adapted from Pakistani novel Karachi, You’re Killing Me!.
The novel centres on a 20-year-old reporter, Ayesha Khan, living in Karachi, her misadventures and finding a nice lover. However, the film is set in Mumbai.
Asked about how this cross-cultural exchange between India and Pakistan can help, she said: “We are just here to entertain people and that’s our purpose. It’s an entertaining film taken from the book with the only purpose to entertain and nothing else.”
The message she wants the audience to take is: “Your voices are important. Youth has the power to make a difference.”
symbol in our society
After last year’s controversy over Pakistani actors working in Indian films, another actor from Pakistan, Saba Qamar, will be making her Bollywood debut with the upcoming film Hindi Medium. Actor Fawad Khan was part of the 2016 hit Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. The political outfit Maharashtra Navnirman Sena threatened that it would not allow the film’s release. The film could release only after the filmmaker said that he wouldn’t work with Pakistani actors anymore. Qamar’s film should stir no trouble. Set for release on May 12, it is a funny take on the class divide created by the knowledge of the English language in India.
Qamar has worked in many successful films and over 20 serials in Pakistan. Among her most popular roles are in TV series Jinnah Ke Naam and Dhoop Mein Andhera Hai. In the film Hindi Medium, Meeta (Saba) and Raj (Irrfan Khan) are playing a middle class couple from Delhi, desperate to get their daughter admitted to an English medium school as part of their attempt to be upper class.
“It is everyone’s story. We are ashamed of our native language, be it Punjabi or Urdu,” said Qamar in an email interaction with HT. “If you make mistakes while speaking your native languages, no one will say anything. But if you say one word incorrect in English, people will treat it like a crime. It is wrong to judge a person based on the language they know.”
In the trailer of the film, Qamar’s character is seen saying, “English is not only a language in this country. It is class. The best way to be part of this class is to study in a good school.”
The actor said there is another sequence in which Irrfan’s character says, “If a foreigner speaks wrong English, it is all right. But if an Indian makes a mistake while speaking English, it is considered a crime.”
Qamar has worked in many successful films and over 20 serials in Pakistan. Among her most popular roles are in TV series Jinnah Ke Naam and Dhoop Mein Andhera Hai. In the film Hindi Medium, Meeta (Saba) and Raj (Irrfan Khan) are playing a middle class couple from Delhi, desperate to get their daughter admitted to an English medium school as part of their attempt to be upper class.
“It is everyone’s story. We are ashamed of our native language, be it Punjabi or Urdu,” said Qamar in an email interaction with HT. “If you make mistakes while speaking your native languages, no one will say anything. But if you say one word incorrect in English, people will treat it like a crime. It is wrong to judge a person based on the language they know.”
In the trailer of the film, Qamar’s character is seen saying, “English is not only a language in this country. It is class. The best way to be part of this class is to study in a good school.”
The actor said there is another sequence in which Irrfan’s character says, “If a foreigner speaks wrong English, it is all right. But if an Indian makes a mistake while speaking English, it is considered a crime.”