Amrish Lal Puri was an Indian actor, who was an important figure in Indian theatre and cinema. He is remembered for playing iconic villainous roles in Hindi cinema as well as other Indian and international film industries

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bio
Full Name	Amrish Lal Puri
Profession	Actor
Famous Role	Mogambo (Film- Mr. India)
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 178 cm in meters- 1.78 m in feet inches- 5’ 10”
Weight (approx.)	in kilograms- 80 kg in pounds- 176 lbs
Eye Colour	Brown
Hair Colour	White
Personal Life
Date of Birth	22 June 1932
Birth Place	Nawanshahr, Punjab, India
Date of Death	12 January 2005
Place of Death	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Age (at the time of Death)	72 Years
Death Cause	Cerebral Haemorrhage arising from Myelodysplastic Syndrome
Resting Place	Shivaji Park Crematorium
Zodiac sign/Sun sign	Cancer
Signature
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Nawanshahr, Punjab, India
School	Not Known
College	B.M. College, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh
Educational Qualification	Graduate
Debut	Hindi Film: Prem Pujari (1970), as Henchman in church of Spain. Kannada Film: Kaadu (1973) Punjabi Film: Sat Sri Akal (1977) Telugu Film: Kondura (1978) English Film: Gandhi (1982)
Last Film	Purab Ki Laila Paschim Ka Chaila: Hello India (2009)
Family	Father- Lala Nihal Chand Puri Mother- Ved Kaur Brothers- Chaman Puri, Madan Puri (both elder, both are also actors), Harish Puri (younger) Sister- Chandrakanta (elder)
Religion	Hinduism
Hobbies	Making A Collection of Hats, Travelling, Listening to Indian Classical Music
Major Awards/Honors	1979: Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Theatre. 1986: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for "Meri Jung." 1994: Sydney Film Festival and Singapore International Film Festival, Best Actor Awards for "Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda." 1997: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for "Ghatak." 1998: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for "Virasat." 2000: Kalakar Awards for Best Supporting Actor.
Controversies	In 1985, during the shoot of "Zabaradast," the legendary director Nasir Hussain was shooting an action scene with Amrish Puri and Aamir Khan was in charge of action continuity. Aamir checked the basic details and once everything was set, he gave his instructions to Amrish Puri with his hands. However, Amrish Puri was so much engrossed in the scene that he kept forgetting the continuity. Aamir, being a perfectionist, kept reminding him and after few reminders, all of a sudden Amrish Puri lost his cool. Amrish Puri started screaming at Aamir in front of the whole unit and there was a pin-drop silence on the set. Amir got scared and kept his head down without uttering a single word. Finally, Nasir Hussain mildly intervened to say that Aamir is just doing his job. It’s at that time Amrish Puri came back to his senses and apologized to Aamir and appreciated his style and detailing.
Favourite Things
Favourite Filmmaker	Subhash Ghai
Favourite Music Director(s)	S. D. Burman, R. D. Burman
Favourite Singer(s)	K. L. Saigal, Kishore Kumar
Girls, Affairs and More
Marital Status	Married
Affairs/Girlfriends	Not Known
Wife/Spouse	Urmila Diveker (m. 1957-2005)
Marriage Date	Year 1957
Children	Son- Rajiv Daughter- Namrata
Money Factor
Salary (average)	1 Crore INR/Film

 

Some Lesser Known Facts About Amrish Puri

• Did Amrish Puri smoke:? Not Known

• Did Amrish Puri drink alcohol:? Yes

• He was born in Nawanshahr, Punjab to a Punjabi-speaking family. 

• He had 4 siblings- 2 elder brothers, 1 elder sister and 1 younger brother.

• His elder brothers, Chaman Puri and Madan Puri were also actors.

• Amrish Puri was a fitness freak and he never rarely missed his daily exercises. 

• He also loved to read newspapers and it had become a part of his daily routine. 

• Amrish Puri was also the first cousin of the veteran actor and singer K. L. Saigal.

• After completing his graduation from B. M. College in Shimla, he moved to Bombay (now Mumbai) to pursue his acting aspirations.

• He failed his first Screen-Test. Later, he found a job with the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation Ministry of Labour and Employment (ESIC).

• It was Ebrahim Alkazi who got him into theatre in 1961.

• Amrish Puri started performing at the Prithvi Theatre in plays written by Satyadev Dubey.

• He became an assistant to Satyadev Dubey and in an interview, Amrish Puri revealed that he considered Satyadev Dubey as his “Guru.”

• He started working in films at the age of 40.

• He was first noticed in the movie Hum Paanch (1980).

• He had always loved to do theatres and to his love for theatres, once he said, “I do theatre even now. People generally use theatre as a stepping stone and never turn back once they are into films… Yet, theatre is something I will always do; it gives me great satisfaction. The response is instant. You are either appreciated or rejected. Besides, it gives you a chance to play all the roles that you would like to. I turn to the theatre for creative satisfaction.”

• With his croaky voice and intense expressions, he had created a niche in the Film Industry. 

• Amrish Puri had done almost 60 full-length plays and in one such play “Aadhey Adhure,” he essayed 5 roles- that of the husband, the lover, the wife’s boss and two other characters.

• Eventually, Amrish Puri became a well-known theatre artist and for his contribution to theatres, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1979.

• His dialogue delivery was so intense that even today they reverberate in our ears.

 

 

• He played the character of Mola Ram in Steven Spielberg’s Hollywood film ‘Indiana Jones’ and the ‘Temple of Doom’ (1984).

• It was for the Hollywood film ‘Indiana Jones’ that he had his head shaved for the first time. 

• Asking his inspirations for acting, Amrish Puri said, “I do want to play ‘King Lear’ and ‘Hamlet.’ And the father in “All My Sons,” the protagonist in “A View from the Bridge,” or Van Gogh in “Lust for Life.” You also tend to draw inspiration for your roles in films from these characters — and from real life. But you can’t pinpoint these characters. They are in my subconscious mind. I’d also love to do historical roles. But that isn’t practical. I can do “Macbeth” or “Lear” only in the theatre. There are so many roles like that I’d like to do…”

• When asked about his favourite roles, the very first role that came into his mind was the role of a village chief in Girish Karnad’s Kannada Film- “Kaadu (1973).” The other roles that he considered very close to his heart were from the films- ‘Nishant,’ ‘Manthan,’ ‘Bhumika’ and ‘Sooraj Ka Saatvan Ghoda.’

• Steven Spielberg is a great fan of Amrish Puri and he often quotes in his interviews: “Amrish is my favourite villain. The best the world has ever produced and ever will!” 

• No one was as good at playing it bad like Amrish Puri. In fact, he was the benchmark for a Bollywood villain.

• Once he said, “I just worked and worked relentlessly. I do not remember how and when I got popular with the filmmakers and what they sought in me.”

• Here’s a glimpse of Amrish Puri’s life and his film career: