In memory of a beloved villain
RANA SIDDIQUI
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As Amrish Puri's autobiography hits the stands, some of his colleagues and family members share their memories and experiences.
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Once it was raining heavily. I didn't get any vehicle to go to school. So papa asked me to go on my own. `You have to be independent some day', he said to me Namrata
AND THE WINNER IS! Amrish Puri flaunting the Best Villain of the Year Award for "Gadar-Ek Prem Katha" at the Bollywood film 2002 Awards in New York.
When he dawned on the screen as the super baddie-cum-caricature Mogambo, children became hysterical. When even as a traditional father he permitted his on screen daughter Kajol to spend a few weeks in America saying Jaa, jee le apni zindagi, in "Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge", many daughters found in him a combination of a tough man and a soft father. When he sang and danced to the tune of Ye Mera India in "Pardes", people swayed with him. They loved the smiling villain.
That was the aura the screen villain Amrish Puri created with his characters. He was the one audiences loved to hate, and his producer, directors and co-actors admired.
Only recently, New Delhi fondly remembered this beloved villain who died on January 12, 2005. The occasion was the release of his autobiography, "Act One", co-authored by Jyoti Sabharwal and published by Stellar Publications.
Amrish Puri's family members remember him as a "fitness freak", a "night bird", a "staunch RSS supporter" and a "traditional father". He was a disciplinarian who embraced values we best know as old world chivalry.
Says Shyam Bengal who worked with him during his theatre days, apart from casting him in "Nishant", "Zubeidaa", "Sardari Begum" and other films, "If there are two names that come to my mind as icons for next three decades, they are Amrish Puri and Amitabh Bachchan. Amitabh achieved this status because he was already a star. Amrish earned it despite not being one. I found him an orthodox, disciplinarian actor and not a method actor. This discipline was drilled into him by Satydev Dubey, who started his theatre group called Theatre Unit after he was through with his training with Alkazi, then the Chairman of the National School of Drama. Amrish was one of the inductees in Theatre Unit. In fact, he was one of his `star disciples'. The important element in him was that he was an exceedingly hardworking actor, completely given to the director. He had no ego hassles with his `boss', (read director), on the sets, irrespective of his status in filmdom."
Kuku Kohli, whose debut film "Phool Aur Kaante" featured him as a don, Nageshwar, with a vast empire, says, "When I signed Amrish ji in my debut film, he was already an established name. I had my own apprehensions about him. But to my surprise, he had no ego hassles with Ajay Devgan, Madhoo and others. Being new, they would give many retakes but Amrish ji would take it calmly. I used to be amazed at his organising skills. He didn't keep a secretary to take care of his dates or monetary matters. He would manage them on his own."
Down to earth
It is heard that the role of Mogambo in Shekhar Kapur's "Mr. India" was first offered to Anupam Kher. When he couldn't deliver, Amrish Puri was chosen and he made history. The film gave him a cult status and yet it didn't take away his down-to-earth attitude. Agrees Javed Akhtar, who together with Salim Khan had penned this role for him, "When we were writing this role, we had only him in mind, for no other person in Bollywood had that stature and personality. I saw him in `Nishant' and was always willing to work with him. He was an angel. I can never forget the incident when I went to him with an offer of a `guest appearance' in my son's film `Lakshay', knowing fully well that he never did guest appearances. I told him that this role of a brigadier demanded him to rebuke his subordinate played by Amitabh Bachchan. I said, is role ke liye main kisi chote mote artist ko choose nahi kar sakta tha. I need a person who can look naturally senior to Bachchan. This is my son's film. If you agree, I would be happy. If you don't, I won't complain.' Amrish ji smiled and said, `Main aapko kaise mana kar sakta hoon'. And `Lakshya' till date remains the only film in which Amrish Puri has a guest appearance." About his attitude, Farooq Abdullah has this to say, "He visited Kashmir many times. Once we went together to a place close to Ladakh at some 35000 feet in a helicopter. When we finally reached there, the first thing that he did after coming down from the helicopter was to kiss the soil. He greeted the natives there as `Main Mogambo aapko jhule kahta hoon'. Jhule is a word of respectable greeting there. They got hysterical at the sight of their beloved Mogambo. I couldn't believe the height of his popularity."
With Govind Nihalani, Amrish Puri shared "a special relationship of 40 years".
"He was my mascot. I wouldn't do any film without him. I would call him Puri Sahab and he would call me `guru'. Satyadev Dubey, Puri Sahab and I used to work together. Dubey would never send the ladies of the troupe alone at night after the rehearsals. And more often than not, Puri Sahab would be the scapegoat to drop them home because he had `that extra powerful look' that would scare away the eve-teasers."
A family man
Apparently, Amrish was successful at balancing his family and professional commitments. "We never talked of his films at home though we often saw him rehearsing his lines late at night in his room. He always preferred all of us together at the dining table," recalls his son Rajiv Puri, a navy officer-turned-businessman, who has inherited his baritone and resonant voice. Recalls Namrata Bagew, Amrish's daughter, in a choked voice, "Once it was raining heavily. I didn't get any vehicle to go to school. So papa asked me to go on my own. `You have to be independent some day', he said to me. The school was far away. I was very scared. But I put on my raincoat and walked to school. As I entered the school gate, I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was my father. That day he told me that though he wanted me to be on my own, he would always be there behind me. It was very touching."
Born in 1932, Amrish had a reputation for being a disciplinarian, but Harish, the youngest of the Puri brothers, after Chaman, Madan and Amrish, shares that he was a rebel too. "He had an inter-caste marriage with a Konkani girl against our parents' wishes. But Bhabi soon won over all family members. He would flare up if he saw me hurt by my friends. If he saw me crying, he would bash up those boys. After bashing them up, he would ask me, `What was the matter actually'." The screen villain was a hero in real life, after all!
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