Amrish Puri facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Amrish Puri
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Puri at the premiere of The Hero: Love Story of a Spy in 2003
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| Born | 22 June 1932 |
| Died | 12 January 2005 (aged 72) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1967–2005 |
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Works
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Filmography |
| Spouse(s) |
Urmila Diveker
(m. 1957) |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Chaman Puri (brother) Madan Puri (brother) K. L. Saigal (cousin) Vardhan Puri (grandson) |
| Signature | |
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Amrish Puri (born 22 June 1932 – died 12 January 2005) was a very famous Indian actor. He was one of the most important people in Indian movies and plays. He acted in over 450 films! Puri is best known for playing amazing villain roles in Hindi movies, but he also acted in international films.
He was especially good at playing bad guys in the 1980s and 1990s. His strong presence on screen and his deep voice made him stand out. Amrish Puri worked in both serious art cinema films and popular mainstream movies. He won three Filmfare Awards for Best Supporting Actor. He also holds the record for the most nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Villain.
Even though he mostly worked in Hindi films, he also appeared in movies made in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, and Marathi. Some of his most famous villain roles were in films like Vidhaata (1982), Shakti (1982), Hero (1983), and Mr. India (1987). His role as the main bad guy, Mogambo, in Mr. India is thought to be one of the greatest villains in Indian cinema history.
Puri also played many good supporting roles. For these, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor three times. Some of his well-known positive roles were in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995), Ghatak (1996), and Pardes (1997). For people in Western countries, he is famous for playing Mola Ram in the Hollywood film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). He also played Khan in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi (1982).
Contents
Early Life
Amrish Lal Puri was born on 22 June 1932. He came from a Punjabi Hindu family in Nawanshahr, Punjab. His parents were Lala Nihal Chand and Ved Kaur. He had four brothers and sisters. His older brothers, Chaman Puri and Madan Puri, were also actors. His cousin was the famous actor and singer K. L. Saigal.
Career Highlights
Puri acted in over 450 films between 1967 and 2005. Most of these movies were very successful. He became one of the most successful villains in Bollywood. However, his early years were tough. He was almost 50 years old before he got his first main villain role in a movie.
Starting in Acting
Puri's family had some connections to movies. His cousin, K. L. Saigal, was a pioneer of Indian cinema. Puri's older brothers, Chaman Puri and Madan Puri, moved to Mumbai in the 1950s. They wanted to try acting and became character actors. Amrish Puri also came to Mumbai in the mid-1950s. But he failed his first screen test.
He then got a steady job with a government organization called the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC). He continued his acting hobby by joining an amateur theatre group. His group often performed plays at the Prithvi Theatre. He became well known as a stage actor. In 1979, he even won the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for his theatre work. This recognition helped him get work in TV commercials and later in films. He started acting in movies when he was about 40 years old.
Rise to Fame
In the early 1970s, Puri had very few lines in his first films. This is surprising because his deep voice later became his trademark. These small roles were still just a hobby for him. He kept his government job to support his family. Throughout the 1970s, Puri played supporting roles. He was often the main villain's helper.
The super-hit movie Hum Paanch (1980) was the first film where he played the main villain. People noticed and liked his acting, personality, and voice in this movie. After that, he started getting cast as the main villain in many other films. Puri worked in films in Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, and even Hollywood. His main work was in Hindi cinema.
Iconic Villain Roles
In 1982, Puri played the main villain, Jagavar Choudhary, in the hit film Vidhaata. That same year, he was again the main villain, JK, in Shakti. This movie starred Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan. In 1983, he played Pasha, the main villain, in the hit movie Hero. Puri often appeared in films by the director Subhash Ghai.
He became known to international audiences for his role as the main bad guy, Mola Ram. This was in Steven Spielberg and George Lucas's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). He also played Gandhi's employer in South Africa in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi (1982). For Indiana Jones, he shaved his head. This look made such a strong impression that he kept his head shaved afterward. His baldness allowed him to try different looks as a villain. Few people know that he wore a wig in every film after that. Puri and Spielberg got along very well. Spielberg often said, "Amrish is my favorite villain. The best the world has ever produced and ever will!"
Puri was the top villain in the 1980s and 1990s. His strong screen presence and deep voice made him stand out. In villain roles, Puri is best remembered as "Mogambo" in Mr. India. Other famous villain roles include "Jagavar" in Vidhaata, "Thakral" in Meri Jung, and "Thakur Durjan Singh" in Karan Arjun. His funny role in Chachi 420, where he acted with Kamal Haasan, was also very much liked.
Positive Supporting Roles
From the 1990s until his death in 2005, Puri also played good supporting roles in many movies. Some of his notable positive roles were in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Phool Aur Kaante, Gardish, and Virasat. He won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor award for Meri Jung and Virasat.
Illness and Death
Amrish Puri was suffering from a serious illness. He had a rare kind of blood cancer. He had brain surgery for his condition after being admitted to the Hinduja Hospital on 27 December 2004. He needed frequent removal of blood from his brain. After some time, he slipped into a coma. Puri passed away around 7:30 a.m. on 12 January 2005.
His body was brought to his home for people to pay their last respects. His funeral was held on 13 January 2005 at the Shivaji Park crematorium.
Filmography
Awards and Nominations
Wins
- 1968: Maharashtra State Drama
- 1979: Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Theatre
- 1986: Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Meri Jung
- 1991: Maharashtra State Gaurav Pur Ghatak
- 1997: Star Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor|Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor – Ghatak: Lethal
- 1997: Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Ghatak: Lethal
- 1998: Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Virasat
- 1998: Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor – Virasat
Nominations
- 1990: Filmfare Award for Best Villain – Tridev
- 1992: Filmfare Award for Best Villain – Saudagar
- 1993: Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Muskurahat
- 1993: Filmfare Award for Best Villain – Tahalka
- 1994: Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Gardish
- 1994: Filmfare Award for Best Villain – Damini
- 1996: Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
- 1996: Filmfare Award for Best Villain – Karan Arjun
- 1999: Filmfare Award for Best Villain – Koyla
- 2000: Filmfare Award for Best Villain – Baadshah
- 2002: Filmfare Award for Best Villain – Gadar: Ek Prem Katha
- 2000: Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role – Baadshah
- 2000: Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role – Taal
- 2002: Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role – Gadar: Ek Prem Katha
Legacy
On 22 June 2019, Amrish Puri was honored with a Google Doodle. This special drawing on Google's homepage celebrated his 87th birthday. The text with the doodle said, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again—and you might end up like Indian film actor Amrish Puri, who overcame an early setback on the way to fulfilling his big screen dreams."
Images for kids
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Puri at the premiere of The Hero: Love Story of a Spy in 2003
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Amrish Puri's signature
