Mumbai: If we think about Villain in Hindi films, one name which will strike first is Amrish Puri. He had created a different identity left via acting skills. January 12, 2005, at the age of 73, Amrish Puri said goodbye to the world. Puri was suffering from myelodysplastic syndrome, a rare kind of blood cancer, and had undergone brain surgery for his condition after he was admitted to the Hinduja hospital 27 December 2004. His condition required frequent removal of the blood accumulated in the cerebral region of the brain and after some time he slipped into a coma shortly before his death around 7:30 a.m 12 January 2005.
During his career he used to play negative roles in such a way that a time came when people started recognizing him as a ‘bad guy’ in Hindi films. Mogambo is considered his most popular character in the history of Hindi cinema.
Amrish Puri was a very disciplined person in real life. He liked to do every job correctly. Be it movies or any work in personal life. Puri was the most expensive villain of Hindi films. His fees also surprised the actors of that era. He is said to have charged up to Rs 1 crore for a film. However, this figure is for those films which had a higher budget.
Once he signed N.N. Sippy’s film but for some reason the shooting delayed for 2-3 years. When the film started, Amrish Puri asked for a fee based on the rate at that time. But when N.N. Sippy refused to pay him such a fee, he left the film.
Puri had said in an interview – Why should I charge less when I do not compromise with my performance. The producers are getting money from distributors because I am in the film. People come to the theater to watch me. Am I not entitled to more fees? Sippy Ji signed me up for his film long back, with the promise that work on the film would begin in a year. But it started three years later, and my fees have gone up according to the market rate. If he cannot pay me as much as my work, then I cannot work in his film.
Puri did not receive the Best Actor Award for any of his films. He definitely won the Best Supporting Actor Award twice.
PNN