More than 'Mogambo': The many shades of Amrish Puri

Amrish Puri Death Anniversary 2024Most of his Bollywood career comprises a set repertoire the bald unconscionable don the brutal policeman the lecherous covetous zamindar or the ruthless politician But Amrish Puri always brought different shades to their rendition and with his booming baritone smouldering gaze and imposing presence he could stand his ground against stalwarts like Dilip Kumar Raj Kumar and Amitabh BachchanBut Amrish Puri 19902005 whose 19th death anniversary is today was always more than what he seemed For starters though he gave the impression of a towering stature he was not really that tall standing just 175 metres or 5 feet 10 inches for the record Dev Anand was roughly 179 metres tall Dilip Kumar was 178m while Amitabh Bachchan is 188m tallAnd then despite two elder brothers being established actors the avuncular Chaman Puri and the versatile Madan Puri as well they being first cousins to late singing superstar KL Saigal he was a very late entrant to Bollywood with his first appearance coming only in 1970 as a smalltime hoodlum in Prem Pujari with just one key dialogue Ham Christian hai as he balks at committing a particular crime Success came even laterIn fact Puri who held a fulltime job in the Employees State Insurance Corporation after his initial foray into films came a cropper spent more time carving a niche on stage especially under the redoubtable Satyadev Dubey He even won the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 1979 much before he emerged as a recognisable face in BollywoodHowever during the 1970s he was a regular feature in the parallelalternate cinema being seen in classics of the genre like Shantata Court Chalu Aahe Silence The Court Is in Session the 1971 Marathi film version of Vijay Tendulkars play Shyam Bengals Nishant 1975 where he plays the influential and manipulative village jagirdar Benegals Manthan 1976 where he is the wily and exploitative businessman Mishraji and Bhumika 1977 where he plays rich businessman Kale who offers the heroine Smita Patil a pampered but restrictive lifestyleThough he had started getting some meatier roles in Bollywood the man reading a horror novel in the train in the cult horror flick Jaani Dushman 1979 Chann Pardesi Punjabi Qurbaani all 1980 Vidhaata 1982 where he held his own against a star cast comprising Dilip Kumar Sanjay Dutt Shammi Kapoor Sanjeev Kumar Madan Puri and Suresh Oberoi his rise to fame came due to HollywoodAs the sinister Thugee high priest Mola Ram in Steven Spielbergs Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 1984 Amrish Puri proved he could hold his own with the whos who of Hollywood too It also made him aware how a shiny bald pate added to his screen looks However he would occasionally don outlandish wigs like as megalomaniac supervillain Mogambo in Mr India 1987 which cemented his reputation as a Bollywood villain to look out for and had a full head of hair in many other outingsThe rest of his Bollywood career is too well known to recount the crooked scheming lawyer in Meri Jung 1985 and then in Damini 1993 the rapacious landlord in Waaris 1988 the ruthless police inspector in Dayavan 1988 and Batwara 1989 overthetop villains in Tridev 1989 and Saudagar 1991 the kindhearted patriarch in Ghatak 1996 and Virasat 1997 and the NRI father who sticks to Indian traditions in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge 1995 and Pardes 1997 among othersOn Amrish Puris death anniversary lets see halfadozen of Amrish Puris lesserknown but no less spectacular rolesHulchul 1971 There have been few films in Bollywood with such an innovative comedythriller by OP Ralhan where the hero Ralhan himself and his girlfriend Helen hear a Mahesh Jetley plotting with his paramour to bump off his wife They dig in deeper and uncover three Mahesh Jetleys Prem Chopra Madan Puri Kabir Bedi all in unhappy marriagesOur heroheroines plot to find the guilty one lands them in hot water and the matter reaches the court Here it is the Public Prosecutor Puri who solves the convoluted problemVijeta 1982 This film dealing with adapting to a career in the Indian armed forces the IAF in this case and the discipline and commitment the training demands is possibly one of the best war films to come out of BollywoodPuri was not playing an IAF officer for the first time having donned the uniform in Hindustan Ki Kasam 1973 but in his role as Chief Instructor Group Captain Varghese he proved a natural And then as teacher of the protagonist who has fallen for his daughter he would set the template for this particular situationTamas 1986 Based on Bhisham Sahnis 1974 Hindi novel dealing with the breakdown of human relations and the unconscionable violence that the Partition brought this Govind Nihalani TV film which evoked chills among those who had experienced the time has Puri as elderly Sikh community leader Teja Singh in a communalviolence stricken townThough he only comes onscreen midway the image of him majestically striding into the gurdwara and among the congregation to the solemn strains of shabad De Shiva Var Mohe paying obeisance to the Guru Granth Sahab and then picking up a sword delivering an impassioned address to the assembly on how they should gird up for the situation will forever remain etched in the minds of the viewersAs he finishes the shabad Jo Lare Din Ke Het underscores his message Bharat Ek Khoj 198889 This Shyam Benegal TV series is an insightful and panoramic view of centuries of Indian history and culture and has appearances by many leading Bollywood actors such as Naseeruddin Shah Shabana Azmi Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Irrfan who was still to achieve prowess thenPuri appears as Hasan Raza Khan an old capable and loyal state functionary of the Nawabs of Bengal in episode No 39 Company Bahadur where he has to negotiate a tightrope between the demands of the British and the cupidity of his own compatriots That shot of him calling his fiercest enemy an ahmaq with his usual ferocity is pricelessHaatim Tai 1990 It is very difficult to leave a mark in a fantasy film where the magic and enchantments via special effects will entrance the viewer more but Puri does this in the second retelling of the legendary Arabian Prince who was renowned for his generosity and altruism As the Prince quests for answers to seven questions to resolve the tangled lives of his friends as well as his own Puri as the magician Kamlaq whose catchphrase is Jinn Jinn Jinn du Jinn Daara emerges as the final obstacle to a happy endingSuraj Ka Satvan Ghoda 1992 Up to his usual lechery and crooked ways Puri as Maheshar Dalal in this Shyam Benegalhelmed story of the narrators life and loves nails the rhythms of smalltownmofussil life perfectly And his trademark dialogue to women how he can sell even the kajal from their eyes does more to reveal his nature and intentions than anything else couldwith inputs from agencies