Journalism of Courage
Amrish Puri was one of Indian cinema's most respected actors, and is still remembered for his iconic role as the villain Mogambo in the 1987 film Mr India. The actor was born on June 22, 1932, and today would have been his 84th birthday. Puri passed away on January 12, 2005, and was an important fogure not only in Bollywood but in Indian theatre as well. He worked with renowned playwrights of the time such as Satyadev Dubey and Girish Karnad. Here are some rare and unseen photos from the Indian Express archives to remember the actor. (Source: Express archive photo)
Amrish Puri also left an indelible mark on international cinema as Mola Ram in the Hollywood film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). He has won three Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor, and was even a Sangeet Natak Akademi Award winner. (Source: Express archive photo)
Amrish Puri was known more as a villain, but he also played many character roles. His signature bass voice and ability to emote aggressively set him apart from his peers. (Source: Express archive photo)
Amrish Puri was born in Jalandhar, Punjab, to Lala Nihal Chand and Ved Kaur. He had four siblings, elder brothers Chaman Puri and Madan Puri (both of whom also became actors), younger brother Harish Puri and elder sister Chandrakanta. (Source: Express archive photo)
Amrish Puri acted in more than 400 films between 1967 and 2005. (Source: Express archive photo)
During his tenure, Amrish Puri worked in regional films as well. Apart from Hindi and Hollywood cinema, he acted in Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi, Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil films. (Source: Express archive photo)
Amrish Puri first started off in supporting roles, playing the henchman of the main villain, but it was in the 1980 movie Hum Paanch where he was noticed to have the calibre to play the main villain. Since then, the only was up. (Source: Express archive photo)
Subhash Ghai was one of the Bollywood directors with whom he worked a lot. (Source: Express archive photo)
Amrish Puri was very active in the film fraternity as well, and lent his voice to support Sanjay Dutt when the actor was jailed. (Source: Express archive photo)
Amrish Puri shared a great rapport with Hollywood director Steven Speilberg, who is quoted to have said: "Amrish is my favorite villain. The best the world has ever produced and ever will!" (Source: Express archive photo)
In villainous roles, Puri is best remembered as "Mogambo" in Mr. India, "Jagavar" in Vidhaata, "Thakral" in Meri Jung, "Bhujang" in Tridev, "Balwant Rai" in Ghayal, Barrister Chadda in Damini and "Thakur Durjan Singh" in Karan Arjun. (Source: Express archive photo)
Puri died on January 12, 2005, due to cerebral haemorrhage in Mumbai, Maharashtra, at the age of 72. (Source: Express archive photo)
