Mogambo - Zindabad Tha, Zindabad Hai aur Zindabad Rahega

Be it the character of Babu Ji in Dil Wale Dulhania Le Jayenge or Mogambo in Mr India, Amrish Puri left a mark in the hearts of the people whenever he came on screen. Today is the birthday of Puri Sahab, who can mould himself into every character he played.

Mogambo, Illustrated by Gowri Suresh: Visual Storyteller at ThisDay

In Sunny Deol's Gadar, Hero, Damini and so many other superhit films, if any other actor had played the role of villain, then it was certain that Sunny's strong personality would have been suppressed somewhere. It was his strong characters that made him alive for generations to come as the best villain in the world. Steven Spielberg called him the most dangerous villain in the world and casted him in an Indiana Jones film without any audition as he refused to give one!

Yeh adalat hai, koi mandir ya dargah nahin jahaan mannate aur murade puri hoti hain yahan dhoopbatti aur nariyal nahin balki thos saboot aur gavaah pesh kiye jaate hain. - Film Damini

If Anil Kapoor is the hero and Amrish Puri the villain in a film, then the film is sure to be a super hit. Mr India and Nayak are some such superhit films.

If the villain is not strong, then the hero is not a hero. Many Bollywood actors were made heroes by Amrish and his superior acting skills. It doesn't matter if the character was negative or positive, if Puri was playing it, it was bound to be popular. Amrish Puri, who can make the audience love him in a positive role and hate him in a negative role, lives in the hearts of Bollywood lovers and will be immortal for thousands of years to come.

Bollywood has always been infamous for its overacting, but there were some diamonds in this Bollywood who taught acting how to act with their abilities. Amrish Puri was one of those diamonds. An actor who took time to achieve success, but when he got it, it became impossible to stop him.

Jo acha tairaak hota hai, vah toofani lehro mein beh nahi jaata balki unhi lehron ko apni naav bana leta hai. - Amrish Puri in Film Shehenshah

Like every best actor, he too started his career in theatres. But he was no petty player of the theatre. There was a time when celebrities like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Indira Gandhi used to come to see his plays.

Whose foundation was so strong, his building ultimately had to be strong. Theatre gave him so much growth as an actor that it has never ever been difficult for him to play any character, no matter what.

Zindagi sirf pyaar par nahin palti...zindagi chalane ke liye paise chahiye, araam chahiye, rutba chahiye. - Film Chachi 420

If someone else had played the role of Kajol's father in 'Dil Wale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge', would we still remember the famous dialogue 'Ja Simran Jaa, Ji Le Apni Zindagi' from that film? It was Amrish Ji's style of speaking that made this dialogue immortal in our minds forever.

Arguably the most iconic role of Amrish Puri - Mogambo; Source: Public Domain