Amrish Puri life and biography

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.

In 1971 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.

Amrish Puri grew to became a staple of Hindi films in the 1980s playing mostly villainous roles, and attracting the most acclaim for his work in the 1987 hit film Mr. India, directed by Shekhar Kapur. He played an egotistical international super-villain, Mogambo, who frequently refers to himself in the third-person, expressing satisfaction at the actions of his underlings with the phrase, Mogambo khush hua (Mogambo is pleased). Since then the Mogambo catchphrase has become one of the best recognized lines in Hindi Cinema.

He also went on to play many positive supporting roles, including his famous role as Baldev Singh, the conservative father who eventually lets his daughter marry her love instead of being forced into an arranged marriage, in the Bollywood blockbuster Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995). Other positive roles include Group Captain Varghese, a Malayali officer in the Indian Air Force based movie Vijeta, an ailing idealistic father in Ghatak: Lethal. He was a kind-hearted American businessman in Pardes (1997) and a genial grandfather in the films Chori Chori Chupke Chupke and Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai. He is also known to play a strict old man in comedy movies like Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate, where he played a retired cop and Muskurahat where he played a retired judge.

His last films included Kisna: The Warrior Poet and Kachchi Sadak, which were released some time after his death.

Awards:

1968:won: Maharashtra State Drama Competition
1979:won:Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Theatre
1990:Nominated:Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award-Tridev
1986:won:Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award, Meri Jung
1991:won:Maharashtra State Gaurav Puraskar

1994:won:Sydney Film Festival, Best Actor Award – Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda
1994:won:Singapore International Film Festival, Best Actor Award – Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda
1996:Nominated:Filmfare Best Villain Award forKaran Arjun
1996:Nominated:Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award-Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
1993:Nominated:Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award-Muskurahat
1994:Nominated:Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award-Gardish
1997:won:Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award-Ghatak
1997:won:Star Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor-Ghatak
1999:Nominated:Filmfare Best Villain Award forKoyla
1998:won:Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award-Virasat
1998:won:Star Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor-Virasat
2000:Nominated:Filmfare Best Villain Award forBaadshah
2002:Nominated:Filmfare Best Villain Award forGadar:Ek Prem Katha

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