Amrish Puri, the man with a towering personality, a voice that could send shivers down your spine and a persona that is still etched in our minds was born today, June 22, 1932.
Amrish Puri was a key player in the Indian theatre movement that picked up steam in the 1960’s and worked with notable playwrights, such as Satyadev Dubey and Girish Karnad.
Amrish Puri is best remembered for his role as Mogambo in Shekhar Kapur‘s Mr. India (1987) in Bollywood and in Hollywood as Mola Ram in Steven Spielberg‘s Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom (1984).
Amrish Puri came to Mumbai following his elder brother Madan Puri, who was one of the most sort after villains in his time.
Amrish Puri failed his first screen test and found a job with the Employees State Insurance Corporation but never gave up his passion for acting. In the year 1997, he was awarded The Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. This theatre recognition soon led to work in television ads and eventually to films at the late age of forty.
Amrish Puri started his Bollywood journey in the year 1970 with Prem Pujari and has been a part of films like Kalyug, Qurbani, Dostana, Don, Shakti, Coolie, Dayavan, Nigahen, Phool Aur Kaante, Karan Arjun, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Chachi 420, Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, Pardes, Damini, Kisna and many more.
Apart from working in Hindi films, he went on to work in Kannada, Marathi, Hollywood, Punjabi, Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil films as well.
Amrish Puri died on January 12, 2005, due to cerebral haemorrhage resulting from complications of myelodysplastic syndrome at the age of seventy two.
We would like to salute this great actor and gentleman who gave Cinema some memorable moments.
We miss you Sir.
