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

Amrish Puri Death Anniversary 2024: On this day, let's see half-a-dozen of the actor's lesser-known, but no less spectacular roles Amrish Puri Death Anniversary 2024: Most 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 Bachchan. But 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 1.75 metres, or 5 feet 10 inches (for the record, Dev Anand was roughly 1.79 metres tall, Dilip Kumar was 1.78m, while Amitabh Bachchan is 1.88m tall). And 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 K.L. Saigal, he was a very late entrant to Bollywood -- with his first appearance coming only in 1970, as a small-time hoodlum in 'Prem Pujari', with just one key dialogue, Ham Christian hai", as he balks at committing a particular crime. Success came even later. In fact, Puri, who held a full-time 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 Bollywood.