REMEMBERING… AMRISH PURI
REMEMBERING… AMRISH PURI
It was one sentence in the post of George Thomas on Dhaal “It is with Pilot Baba that this film strikes gold” made me desperate to think and write about Amrish Puri.
Very few actors have that capability that when they come on screen, then concentration of audience immediately shift to them. You forget the opposite actor; your eyes ignore other actors and just concentrate on that particular actor. Amrish Puri was such an actor.
I have grown up watching Amrish Puri’s films, seeing him as bad guy and then turning to loving father and grand father. Whenever I used to surf channels, and if I come to see Amrish Puri, I just can not escape that scene. He is one of the my all time favourite actors of hindi cinema.
If 60s was the era of Pran, 70s was Amzad Khan then 80s and 90s was dominated by one and only Amrish Puri.
He started his filmy career in his 40s and till death he worked and till date he is known as one of the best villains and character artists hindi films have.
He played sophisticated villains like J.K. Verma in Shakti, Balwant Rai in Ghayal, Nageshwar in Phool Aur Kaante and over the top very dramatic villains like Mogambo (Mr. India), Dong (Tehelka), Chuniya (Saudagar), Paasha (Hero), Tau (Divya Shakti) etc.
Give him any damn role irrespective of length; he turned it into the golden performance. In Jaani Dushman his performance in a small role made movie more horrible (it was a horror movie so horrible) than any other actor.
If you cast Amrish Puri as villain, then the opposite actor should be capable enough to perform as well as Amrish Puri. You should have Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar or any actor having same powerful performance as Amrishji.
Oh… if you think he could not do comedy… than just watch Chachi 420 and China Gate. you have to change your opinion. I loved Thakur Durjan Singh more than Karan and Arjun when he shakes his head in the song ”Mujko raanaji maaf karma”. Dong was more lovable and comic than any other actor in Tehelka.
If you think he has done only over the top highly dramatic roles then watch Shyam Benegal’s movies like Zubeidaa, Bhumika, Manthan or just see amrish puri in a small role as Khan in Gandhi. Amrish Puri was as intense as Om Puri in Ardh Satya. Can you imagine any other actor in role of Sunny Deol’s father in Ghatak? I could not resist my emotions while watching his acting in scenes of hospital and when Danny made him act like dog. In DDLJ, amrishji’s intensity of anger was such that i felt that “kahi amrishji ki aankhen bahaar na nikal aaye!”.
Just think… whom do you think to play J.K. Verma’s role in Shakti in front of the power houses Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan…. Only few names come in my mind Pran, Amjad Khan, Danny and Amrish Puri. But Amrish Puri must be stand first in options. You just miss his absence in Nigaahein (the sequal of Nagina in which he palyed role of madari Bhairon naath). He was one of the main reasons to watch Nagina and his absence was one of the main reason not to watch Nigahein.
You just can not ignore Amrishji’s performance in Muskuraahat (1992) or Viraasat (1997) or Ghatak (1996) or Gardish (1993) as character artist. He played arrogant but lovable father in all above mentioned films. You have to love that character. The main reason was the appropriate performance given by Amrishji by honesty.
Agreed…that he has done so many faltoo stereo typed roles. In most of the roles he played roles of thakur, chaudhary or Zameendaar- harassing poor hero and villagers e.g Aaj ka Arjun, Hum Paanch, and lots many 80s movies. But it is also fact that he was best in those roles. Can’t forget Hatimtai or Alibaba Marjinaa. Amrish Puri was only remembered and worth to watch in those films. He simply beat others in those films.
He also tried various get ups in various roles like Mogambo, Chuniya, Chadhdha. Anyone who is watching the hindi films, at any time he can recognise Baal Jatkaooing style of Chadhdha in Damini, unforgettable dialogues like “mogembo Khush Huaa” in Mr. India, “Dong kabhi wrong nahi hota” in Tehelka “Is shehar me sabhi goondo ka ek hi baap hai.. naageshwar”, long teeth of Chuniya in Saudaagar, long chootiya of paasha in Hero, the parda faad laugh of Ajgar jurrat and bhujang in vishwatama and tridev.
I personally feel that if Amrish Puri was there for the role of Dr. Dang in Karma, the character might had been more interesting. If Amitabh Bachchan was not there for the role of Narayan Shankar in Mohabattein, then Amrishji would be the second best choice for that role. If Amrishji was there for the role of Koka in Trimurti, then the film might have got new dimensions.
So here I am listing some of the memorable performances by Amrish Puri
• Mogambo - Mr. India
• Madari Bhairo Nath – Nagina
• Bhujang- Tridev
• Ajgar Jurrat- Vishwatma
• Om Puri’s father- Ardh Satya
• Hanumant Singh-Batwaara
• Inspector Ratan Singh- Dayavaan
• Mahaprabhu- Jaadugar
• Balwant Rai- Ghayal
• Chuniya – Saudagar
• Dong- Tehelka
• Jusice Verma- Mukuraahat
• Thakur- Viraasat
• Mahesvar- Suraj kaa satvaan Ghoda
• Tau- Divya shakti
• Indrajit Chadhdha- Damini
• IGP- Drohkaal
• Thakur Durjan Singh- Kran Arjun
• Baldev Singh- DDLJ
• Mirza Khan- Kaala Pani
• Shambhu Nath- Ghatak
• Pilot Baba- Dhaal
• Pintoo- Doli Sajaa ke Rakhna
• Col. Puri- China Gate
• Jusitce Bhardwaj- Chachi 420
• Abhyankar- Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate
• Suleman Sheth- Zubeida
• Chief Minister- Nayak- The real hero
• Zameendar- Hum Paanch
• Raaka- Qurbaani
• Vinayak Kale- Bhumika
• Zamindaar- Nihssnat
• Manthan
• Rehmat Khan- Reshma Aur Shera
• Tamas
• Paasa- Hero
• Khan- Gaandhi
• Thakral- Meri Jung
If I have to make Pirates of Caribbean, Amrish puri would be my first choice for the role of Barbossa. May be today’s villains are more closed to reality, but as far as effect of Amrish Prui on the screen and audience is concerned, till date he is unbeatable. I don’t know about others, but i am missing him in hindi films. I am feeling absence of larger than life villain and arrogant but lovable father or grand father like him in hindi films.
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Movies, People , Acting, amrish puri, chuniya, dong, ghatak, mogembo, shakti, tau
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true. so true. the legend lives on…
And there was also Mola Ram from “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”. It was by no means a small side role and the movie certainly a better known movie here in the US than the likes of “League of Extraordinary Gentleman” and “The Ghost and the Darkness”. Apparently, Temple of Doom was the first movie where he shaved his head for that bald look.
But “Temple of Doom” was banned in India for showing India in poor light, which explains why the role is perhaps not so well known in India. In fact, the “India” sequences were all shot in Sri Lanka because Spielberg was unable to get permission to shoot scenes in India. According to IMDB, “the Indian government requested that a copy of the script to be read and also demanded that the word “Maharajah” to be removed fearing that the content does not reflect their culture”.
Which is a shame, because as the Kali worshiping, Thuggee priest, Amrish Puri was menacing. His “Om Kali maa, mujhe shakti de” had enough potential to become as legendary as “Mogambo kush hua”.
Amrish Puri ji always treasured the letter written to him by Steven Spielberg. If I remember correctly, Steven Spielberg had also gifted him a hat which Amrish ji treasured a lot. If his son Rajeev reads PFC, I hope he can throw some light on that.
Apart from that, he was a great person, down to earth and spoke very softly. I would always cherish my conversation with him.
Dont forget Shera of Loha. He was awesome and fearful as Shera.
Really…I recently saw Ardh Satya and the scene where Om Puri and Amrish Puri argue just sizzles. Om Puri shouts back at his dominating dad who is taken aback. Then he says something like,
Amrish Puri: Chilla kyon rahe ho? Mere kaan durust hain!
(pause)
“Kuch Whiskey ya brandy hai? Meri Khatam ho gayi hai!”
I laughed out loud. The only humourous scene in the whole movie. Brilliant writing and acting in that scene!
He really was a powerful actor. Very versatile, comedy, drama, etc., he was more than competent on all fronts. It’s a real shame most of his roles were caricatures, over the top ridiculous villains.
“Dong kabhi wrong nahin hota! uparwala wrong ho sakta hai lekin dong kabhi wrong nahin hota.” he was a too good actor with a powerful command of the screen. awesome voice also.
Here is an actor who has been criminally used by the industry only in terms of his booming voice and screen presence. He was a very good physical performer too. It peeked out in unlikely films such as Chinagate, Tridev, etc. where used to go beyond the written and use his physique to create something different in his look..that was his theatre background that helped him..little things that made otherwise run of the mill characters stand out.
Also, he made the caricatures believable. That was fabulous! Tau and Mogambo come readily to mind!!
GR8 Article Man:)
A superlative piece on whom is probably my favorite character actor in Hindi cinema!!!! There hasn’t been a week that doesn’t go by where I don’t think about/remember/miss Puri Sir……
[...] PFC Was one sentence in the post of George Thomas on Dhaal
Akshay… what is this yaar? i saw my this article posted on naachgana.com and the author’s name was nowhere. can u explain please…?
link is
http://www.naachgaana.com/2007/11/07/remembering%E2%80%A6-amrish-puri/
I think PFC needs to quickly put in place a definitive IPR policy , as the articles and comments here are being widely reproduced in Tabloids and other websites.I don’t know if this is done with permission from the Administrators
rectified.
Amrish Puri Sir is my favourite actor in Indian movie industry. He is really a talented actor suitable for all kind of acting. He is a good person with positive attitude. I like his role as a Mogambo in ‘Mr. India’, Thakur Durjan Singh in ‘Karan-Arjun’, Lala Khurana in ‘Tejaswini’, Azghar Jurhad in ‘Vishwatma’, Thakur Bhupendra Singh in ‘Aaj Ka Arjun’, Thakur Bhishambar Nath in ‘Ram-Lakhan’, Colonel Puri in ‘China Gate’, Raja Saab in ‘Koyla’, Mahaprabhu Janak Sagar Jagat Narayan Chintamani in ‘Jadoogar’, Taka in ‘Diljale’, C.M. Balraj Chauhan in ‘Nayak’ and Thakur Hansraj Singh in ‘Ganga Jamuna Saraswati’. He is a wonderful actor. I like him very much especially his harsh voice and scary face. Amrish Puri Sir Zindabad! Zindabad! Zindabad!
Have you seen the movie “AAj Ka Arjun” ?. One thing that i would never forget in the movie is Amrish Puri Sir’s performance in the item song called “Mashuka”. A lady dances and sings the song “Mashuka Mashuka, Mein Aisi Mashuka”. Amrish Puri sir enjoys the performance having drinks with his friends. Somewhere in the middle of the performance, Amrish Puri sir stands up and starts to dance and sings the song-
“Marhawa, Marhawa,
Hasino Ke Liye Saayar Purane, Sach Hi Kehte Hai,
Yeh Jiski Jaan Lete Hai, Ushi Ke Dil Mein Rehte Hai,
Jaan Lene Ka Agar Hai, Sokh Itna Janemaan…,
Jaan Dene Ki Aada Bhi, Sikh Le Ae Gulbadan,”
then the lady replies-
“Jaan Dene Ki Aada Kya, Husn Ko Sikhlaoge,
Husn Ko Chedoge To, Khud Khaak Mein Miljaoge,”
then Amrish Puri sir replies with a laughter-
“Achchha? Hahahaha,”
Wow, what a great performance. I like it very much.
—Suvesh Ranjit (From Nepal)–