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Thursday, Jan 13, 2005

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National

The "bad guy" film fans loved

By Mahesh Vijapurkar

Amrish Puri, after receiving the Best Villain of the Year Award for "Gadar-Ek Prem Katha", at the Bollywood film 2002 Awards which was held in New York last year.

MUMBAI, JAN. 12. Amrish Puri (72) had that rugged, rough-hewn face but it was not good enough, by Bollywood standards. So he had to wait for 17 years, after his first screen test, for a role.

Born on June 22, 1932, he made his debut in `Reshma Aur Shera' in 1971. And he never looked back after that. He built his career entirely on convincing portrayals of a variety of villains, from the comic to the absurd, some as legendary as Amjad Khan's Gabbar Singh. According to one count, he had acted in over 300 films. But more than the numbers, it was the quality of the roles that mattered to him.

Beyond doubt a director's actor, he showed his capacity for refined portrayals underscoring his plasticity when Shyam Benegal cast him in his `Bhumika', `Nishant' and `Manthan'. His sandpaper voice lent an awesome dimension to his characters. Of course, to the world, he is that captivating, psychotic comic Mogambo in Shekar Kapur's `Mr. India'. And those signature words "Mogambo khush hua!" (Mogambo is pleased!) would be remembered but Mr. Puri's contribution is far more than that. As he said in several interviews, he was like a brick — could be used to build a temple, a mosque or a church.

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