Mudhalvan
Directed by	Shankar
Produced by	Shankar R. Madhesh
Written by	S. Shankar Sujatha
Starring	Arjun Manisha Koirala Raghuvaran
Music by	A. R. Rahman
Cinematography	K. V. Anand
Editing by	B. Lenin V. T. Vijayan
Studio	S Pictures
Release date(s)	November 7, 1999 (1999-11-07)
Country	‹See Tfd› India
Language	Tamil
Budget	10 crore
Box office	35 crore

Mudhalvan (Tamil: முதல்வன்; English: Chief Minister) is a Tamil political thriller film co-written and directed by S. Shankar. The film features Arjun, Manisha Koirala and Raghuvaran in the lead roles with Manivannan, Vijayakumar and Hanifa portraying other significant roles. The film featured an award-winning soundtrack composed by A. R. Rahman, cinematography by K. V. Anand and dialogs by Sujatha.^[1]

The film revolves around an ambitious TV journalist, Pughazhendi, working for “Q TV” who interviews the present Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Pughazhendi asks the tough questions, and the Chief Minister starts trembling and ask Pughazhendi to put his money where his mike is, and become the Chief Minister for a day. After using up a few lifelines mentally, Pugazhendi agrees and does such a great job on his first day, that the voters eventually elect him to be their permanent leader. The subsequent unpopularity and jealousy that the Chief Minister goes through results in him taking revenge on Pugazhendi, and how he is stopped forms the crux of the story.

The film won Filmfare Best Tamil film(2000).

Upon release on November 7, 1999, the film went on to receive positive reviews from film critics and consequently became a large success commercially, winning awards on a regional scale. The film was then dubbed and released in Telugu as Oke Okkadu and later remade in Hindi as Nayak starring Anil Kapoor.

Plot[link]

The story focuses on Pughazhendhi (Arjun). He happens to be an ambitious TV cameraman, working for “Q TV”. His opposite person is the Chief Minister (CM) of the state, played by Raghuvaran. During riots triggered by a fight between some college students and bus drivers, which threaten to touch upon the touchy issue of castes, the CM reveals his unwillingness to take strong action to quell the violence for fear of estranging any of his political bases. To set things right, he then appears on a live interview with Pughazhendi, who had coincidentally captured the CM's earlier unwillingness to take a stand, on camera.

In this interview in response to Pughazh's pointed questioning about the poor working of his government, the CM ducks the question by instead talking about how difficult his job is, and by challenging Pugazh to be the CM for one day. Pugazh reluctantly accepts the seat of the Chief Minister in the place of Aranganathan (Raghuvaran). Educated and vigilant, Pugazh moves fast. He takes care of almost every aspect in a day's time, giving the slum their rightful apartments and getting jobs for the unemployed, suspending inefficient and corrupt government officers. All the way he is assisted by the secretary, Mayakrishnan (Manivannan). As the last act of the day he gets Aranganathan arrested as he is the root of all the corruption. But Aranganathan bails out, passes an ordinance to nullify all orders passed by Pugazh when he was the CM. Taking Pugazh's success as an insult, Aranganathan sends goons to get him killed and destroys his house.

Meanwhile Pugazh falls in love with an innocent village girl called Thenmozhi (Manisha Koirala). But her father (Vijaykumar) wants his daughter's suitor to be a government civil worker. So after his tenure as a one-day CM he starts preparing for the Indian Civil Service Examination when his earlier secretary comes in and tells him that Pugazh's popularity has rocketed sky-high and people want him to become the next CM of the state. He refuses but then Aranganathan's henchman attacks the Q TV news agency. Mayakrishnan then tells Pugazh that he has become a part of politics and Aranganathan will never leave him at peace and Pugazh's lawsuit against Aranganathan is bound to fail. But Thenmozhi's father dissuades Pugazh from joining politics. However, on seeing the people’s plight and Mayakrishnan's advice he agrees to stand in the elections.

In the ensuing state elections, he wins by full majority. But Thenmozhi’s father angered by Pugazh's decision refuses to let his daughter marry him. Here, Aranganathan’s political allies desert him causing his defeat. On becoming the chief minister, Pugazhendhi brings about lots of improvements and quickly becomes an idol in the people’s eyes. However his growing popularity is threatened continuously by Aranganathan who uses his henchmen to kill him or at least tarnish is image as a public hero. But Pugazh promptly answers by digging out all accusations against Aranganathan and his allies. This, however, causes a reunion of Aranganathan and his allies. After a failed attempt on Pugazh's life by hiring an assassin, a bomb is detonated at his home killing his parents.

In the final attempt Aranganathan orders his P.A. to destroy law and order and cause bomb explosions in various parts of the city. But a priest is able to overhear a few men planning to detonate bombs. He immediately notifies Pugazh's office via the "Complaint Box" department. Aranganathan's P.A. is arrested and under tactical inquiry by Pugazh and his secretary, he discloses the location of the bombs. A Bomb Squad successfully defuses all the bombs. Aranganathan , however, uses this success against Pugazh by blaming the young CM for the bomb. Seeing no way out, Pugazh summons Aranganathan to the secretariat and creates a situation such that it would seem as if Aranganathan was there to shoot Pugazh but failed. The security guards shoot down Aranganathan killing him. Pugazh, secretly tells Mayakrishnan the truth but Mayakrishnan believes that Aranganathan deserved it. Thenmozhi's father also comes to realize that Pugazh is in fact a great man who sees duty before everything else and allows Thenmozhi to marry him. The final scene shows Tamil Nadu developing over the years under Pugazhendhi's Government.

Cast[link]

• Arjun as Pugazhendhi
• Manisha Koirala as Thenmozhi
• Raghuvaran as Aranganathan
• Manivannan as Mayakrishnan
• Vadivelu as Palavesham
• Vijayakumar as Thenmozhi's father
• Haneefa as Chinnasami
• Laila as Shuba
• Sushmita Sen in a special appearance

Production[link]

Development[link]

The film was launched in October 1998 at an event well attended by actors and technicians from the Tamil film industry, with noted actors Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan being the special invitees.^[2]

The lead role was initially written with Rajinikanth in mind. It was Kamal Haasan, who Suggested Arjun and he was signed on.^[3] Despite reports that Shilpa Shetty was added to the cast in February 1999, it was later classified as untrue.^[4]

Filming[link]

Parts of the film were also shot in Bikaner, Rajasthan.^[5]

The song "Shakalaka Baby" was the last song to be shot, with Sushmita Sen selected to feature in a special appearance for the song.^[6][7]

Release[link]

Reception[link]

The film went on to run for over one hundred days in cinemas with an event being held at Kamaraj HAll on February 25, 2000 to mark one hundred days since release. The event, similar to the launch, attracted several people from the film industry with Kamal Haasan, once again, being the chief guest of the event.^[8]

Reviews[link]

Upon release, the film was critically acclaimed by film critics, with the review from The Hindu citing that "Shankar scores again". In regard to the lead performances, Arjun is described as having "acquitted himself with aplomb", whilst Manisha's performance was criticized with claims that she "lacks the freshness that one always associates her with".^[9] The critic also referred to Shankar's direction and Sujatha's dialogs as a "positive", whilst drawing praise to the videos of the songs describing that "every song and dance sequence seems a magnum opus by itself". The New Indian Express described the film as "absorbing" and praised certain scenes, although it criticized the videos of the songs as a "fiasco".^[10]

Controversy[link]

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham, ruling Tamil Nadu, was upset with the film. That in the view of the DMK, the film suggested its rule was even worse than that of AIADMK supremo J Jayalalitha—who, significantly, had cases of malfeasance amounting to Rs 300-plus crore pending against her name. Raghuvaran, who played a venal chief minister and whose dialogue was delivered in a raspy voice, was taking off on state Chief Minister Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi. Interestingly, while the Tamil Nadu ruling party reportedly viewed the film as an attempt to slur their 'thalaivar,' in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, the reaction was the polar opposite. In Andhra Pradesh, thus, Arjun—who by force of circumstance becomes chief minister for a day and who, in those 24 hours, managed to do enough good to create a public outcry demanding that he enter active politics and take over as chief minister for good, was seen as a mirror image of Chandrababu Naidu. Thus, the Andhra chief minister invited director Shankar as his special guest, requested a special screening of the film and lauded the ideals the director had expressed in his film.^[11]

Soundtrack[link]

The release of the soundtrack was held at Satyam Cinema, Chennai on October 31, 1999 with two songs from the film being performed on stage. The special guests for the event were actor Kamal Haasan and actress Sushmita Sen, who performed an item number in the film. The event was well attended by the cast and the crew of the film, with other guests including cinematographer P. C. Sriram, actress Sarika and actor Suriya.^[12]

The soundtrack features six songs composed by A. R. Rahman and lyrics penned by Vairamuthu. The song "Shakalaka Baby" was re-edited by A. R. Rahman and featured on the hit international musical production Bombay Dreams, which ran in Europe and North America from 2002 to 2005. This version was also released as a single. A Mandarin Chinese remix of the track sung by Singaporean singer Kelly Poon was featured in her album In the Heart of the World (2007).

The soundtrack was a phenomenal success and the initial day audio sale alone was more than three lakh units.^[13]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Mudhalvan at the Internet Movie Database

Manisha Koirala
Manisha Koirala
Born	Manisha B. Koirala (1970-08-16) August 16, 1970 (age 41) Kathmandu, Nepal
Other names	Manisha Koirala Dahal
Occupation	Film actress
Years active	1989–present
Spouse	Samrat Dahal (2010–present)
Website
http://www.manishakoirala.net.in/

Manisha B. Koirala (born August 16, 1970) is a Nepali-Indian^[1][2] actress who works in Indian films, as well as a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador and social activist. Koirala has primarily worked in Hindi cinema, though she has appeared in several Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films as well. She is also an accomplished Bharatnatyam and Manipuri dancer. Making her acting debut in the Nepali film Pheri Bhetaula (1989), Koirala made her Bollywood debut with the top-grossing drama Saudagar (1991). She went on to establish herself as one of the leading actresses with such mainstream films as 1942: A Love Story (1994), Agni Sakshi (1996) and Gupt (1997).^[3]

Recognised for her acting prowess, Koirala was noted for her performances in films like Bombay (1995), Akele Hum Akele Tum (1995), Khamoshi: The Musical (1996), Dil Se.. (1998) and Company (2002). She has won the Filmfare Critics' Award thrice and has received four nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress so far. Although box-office collections of her films have varied considerably, critics have noted that her niche as an actor remains unharmed irrespective of her commercial potent.^[3][4] Off-screen she is frequented in the media as being a "controversy’s child" with her bohemian stance and candid comments often described as "outspoken" and "bold".^[5][6][7]

Early life and background[link]

Main article: Koirala family

Manisha Koirala was born in Kathmandu, Nepal, into the politically prominent Koirala family to Prakash Koirala and Sushma Koirala. Her grandfather Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala was the Prime Minister of Nepal during the late 1950s-early 1960s, as well as two of her late great-uncles, Girija Prasad Koirala and Matrika Prasad Koirala. She studied at Vasant Kanya Mahavidhyalaya (VKM), Varanasi until Class X. She stayed with her grandmother in Varanasi during her studies. After passing tenth standard she shifted to the Army Public School, Dhaula Kuan, New Delhi (APS).^[8] Her ambition was to be a doctor, but a modelling stint opened a career path into Bollywood.^[9]

Her brother Siddharth Koirala is also an actor, and collaborated with her once in the film Anwar.^[10]

In 2004, she returned from New York after receiving a diploma in filmmaking. She became a member of an independent documentary filmmaker's society.^[11]

Career[link]

1980s[link]

Her first film was Pheri Bhetaula (We Shall Meet Again), a Nepali movie released in early 1989.

1990s[link]

Her first Hindi movie was Subhash Ghai's Saudagar in 1991. The film proved to be a good beginning, as it was the biggest hit of the year.

She starred in a number of unsuccessful films during 1992-1993 until Vidhu Vinod Chopra's love saga 1942: A Love Story (1994) and Mani Ratnam's Tamil drama Bombay (1995) came out.^[12][13] Her performance in the latter was particularly appreciated and won her the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance. She was also seen in more commercial films, such as Mansoor Khan's romantic musical Akele Hum Akele Tum (1995) opposite Aamir Khan. Her role of Kiran, an ignored wife who leaves her husband and child in order to fulfill her singing talent and subsequently becomes a popular star, earned her a Filmfare nomination for Best Actress.

Koirala had a particularly successful year in 1996. She received positive reviews for her performance in the drama Agni Sakshi,^[14] where she played the role of a battered wife on the run from her mentally ill husband, played by Nana Patekar. The film became one of the biggest hits of that year at the Indian box office.^[15] Later that year, she acted in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's directorial debut, Khamoshi: The Musical. The film saw her playing the role of Annie, a caring daughter to deaf parents. Her performance was highly acclaimed,^[16] and won her a second consecutive Filmfare Best Performance Award, as well as a Star Screen Award for Best Actress. One critic from Channel 4 wrote, "Koirala... demonstrates the full range of her acting ability, rather than playing against it as she has had to do in more traditional films. The scene where she shouts at her father through the door, screaming and using sign language even though she knows he can neither see nor hear her, is extremely powerful."^[17] Filmfare magazine later included her performance in the film on its "80 Iconic Performances" list.^[18]

One year later in 1997, she played the leading role alongside Kajol and Bobby Deol in the thriller Gupt: The Hidden Truth. The film became one of the biggest hits of the year.^[19] She went on to collaborate once again with Mani Ratnam, and starred in his award-winning film Dil Se.. (1998) opposite Shahrukh Khan. Her role received similarly good reviews, and earned her several award nominations including the Filmfare Best Actress Award nomination. Despite performing poorly at the box office in India, the film proved to be a hit overseas.^[20]

Success followed for Koirala, and she went on to act in several critically and commercially successful projects. In 1999, she starred in the moderately successful Kachche Dhaage (1999), which was followed by six more releases, the most notable of them being Indra Kumar's drama Mann. She played the role of a traffic accident victim in the film, which entered into the top five highest grossing films of the year.^[21] Her performance in the film won her favorable reviews. Film critic M. Ali Ikram wrote about her performance, "If there is respite for Manisha's innumerable fans of late, this flick is it. We may not care about hits and flops, but it is painful to watch this acting virtuoso in the innumerable side roles she has been seen in of late. Indra Kumar's decision to cast Manisha here, is a case of perfect casting, and she never lets him or the audience down. This lady is truly the Meena Kumari of her generation. It is great fun watching Manisha and Aamir Khan's perfect chemistry opposite one another. The film's climax has both stars permanently molding a spot for themselves in Bollywood history, and it will have you shedding tears by the bucketful."^[22]

2000s[link]

A portrait of Koirala by Atula Siriwardane

In 2000 she hosted the TV show Sawaal Dus Crore Ka on Zee TV alongside Anupam Kher. In 2001, she starred in the drama Grahan opposite Jackie Shroff. Her portrayal of a rape victim in the film who quests for justice was appreciated, but the film, which was a much-delayed project, was a major commercial failure. She next played the main protagonist in Rajkumar Santoshi's drama Lajja along with an ensemble cast that included Rekha, Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit. The film received a positive reception from critics, and so did Koirala's performance.

In 2002, she starred opposite Ajay Devgan in Ram Gopal Verma's Company. The film was a critical success, as was Koirala's performance in it, and she won her third Filmfare Critics' Best Actress Award. In that same year, she appeared in Ek Chotisi Love Story. The film was released amidst controversy as she accused the director of the film, Shashilal Nair of using her body double to shoot some love scenes in the film and portraying her in bad light by shooting positions using another actress in her place, without her approval to do so. Koirala demanded that Nair re-shoot these scenes because the double's body did not match her physique and required that these scenes be deleted from the film. She later claimed that Nair had stipulated that he would re-shoot the scenes only if she agreed to bear half of the expenses. She said, "I always believed in Shashi. I did this film out of sheer goodwill. I had nothing to gain from it financially as I did the film for free. I also gave him all the dates immediately. It was his first chance to direct a film in four years. He has a family to support and I couldn't bear to see a friend in hardship." Koirala decided to sue Nair and moved the court against him, objecting to the alleged nudity and obscene postures, and pleaded that these scenes be deleted from the film, saying she had not performed in these scenes and that Nair had made use of another actress for them.^[23] Finally, the court decided to stay the release of the film.^[24]

After years of success, in 2003 she was seen in several low budget films, yet not less challenging roles. She ventured into strong woman-oriented films in 2003, such as Escape From Taliban which won her the BFJA Award for Best Actress. She then played the main protagonist in Market (2003), a film portraying the whole life story of a young prostitute. The film was a decent success at the box office.^[25]

After receiving a diploma in filmmaking, she produced the small-budget caper-comedy Paisa Vasool (2004) in which she starred along with Sushmita Sen; this was probably the first ever chick-flick in Indian cinema in that it did not have a male lead nor a love story.

Overall, Koirala starred as the leading role in 6 high-budget, successful Tamil movies: Bombay (1994) co-starring Arvind Swamy, Indian (1996) co-starring Kamal Hassan, Mudhalvan (1999) co-starring Arjun, Aalavandhan (2001) co-starring Kamal Hassan, Baba (2002) co-starring Rajnikanth and Mumbai Express (2005) co-starring Kamal Hassan.

Since then, she has played supporting and leading roles in various unsuccessful films, some of which being well received by critics, such as the historical epic drama Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story (2005), the thriller Tum - A Dangerous Obsession (2005), and the horror film Anjaane - The Unknown (2006).

In Anwar, she played a supporting role along with her brother Siddharth Koirala, her only release in 2007.

In 2008, she made her comeback to films, with her first leading role since Mumbai Express (2005), in Tulsi, opposite Irrfan Khan. Although pre-release her comeback was described by the media as "shocking", and the film suffered from poor marketing,^[26] her performance as Tulsi, a young homemaker diagnosed with blood cancer, was well received. Taran Adarsh from indiaFM wrote, "Manisha Koirala sinks her teeth in this role and delivers a fine performance."^[27] She next starred in Sirf (2008), a movie about four couples from different strata of life, which portrays the lifestyle of people in metro. The film, which was released without any notice or publicity, was a major critical failure and faced a low box-office opening, with most shows being cancelled out due to its poor critical response.^[28] Her first Bengali film Khela directed by Rituparno Ghosh also released the same year along with long delayed Hindi film Mehbooba, both films released on the same day.^[29]

In December 2009, she served as the Jury member in the fifth edition of Dubai International Film Festival.^[30]

2010s[link]

In 2010, she made her foray into Malayalam cinema with Shyamaprasad's Elektra, a psycho-sensual drama based on Sophocles's ancient Greek tragic play Electra. She plays the main antagonist in the film which revolves around the concept of Electra Complex that is a daughter's psychosexual competition with her mother for her father's affection.^[31] The film premiered at the International Film Festival of India, where it was well received.^[32] Later that year, she acted in Partho Ghosh's Ek Second... Jo Zindagi Badal De?. She also acted in her native Nepali-language film Dharmaa after a gap of 22 years since her first film.^[33]

In 2011 Koirala appeared in Mappillai, her first Tamil movie in 5 years. A remake of the 1989 film of the same name, the film saw her reprising the role originally played by the late Srividya. She was next seen in director Onir's critically acclaimed anthology film I Am, sharing the screen with Juhi Chawla; noted film critic Taran Adarsh commented, "It's a delight to watch Juhi and Manisha, after a hiatus. Both deliver striking performances - even getting the language right."^[34][35][36] Her forthcoming releases include Deepti Naval's directorial debut titled, Do Paise Ki Dhoop, Char Aane Ki Barish and Rohit Kaushik's Badalte Chehere.

In recent development she is re-teaming with director Ram Gopal Verma for his upcoming 3D horror film BHHOOoo.! which is a sequel to 2003 hit Bhoot.^[37]

Personal life[link]

On June 19, 2010, Koirala married Samrat Dahal in a traditional ceremony held in Kathmandu.^[38] The couple spent their honeymoon in Finland.^[39] They met through the online social networking website, Facebook. She was reportedly engaged in 2001 to Crispin Conroy, the former Australian ambassador to Nepal, but they broke up later. There were also reports of her dating American speaker and author, Christopher Dorris, but that relationship also ended.^[38]

Social work[link]

In September 1999, Koirala was appointed as a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador.^[9] She is actively involved in social work, specifically working with organizations to promote women’s rights, prevention of violence against women, and also to prevent the human trafficking of Nepali girls for prostitution.^[9]

Awards[link]

Won

• 1996, Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil, Bombay
• 1996, Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance, Bombay
• 1997, Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance, Khamoshi: The Musical
• 1997, Star Screen Award Best Actress, Khamoshi: The Musical
• 2003, Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress, Company
• 2004, Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards, Best Actress, Escape From Taliban
• 2006, Gorkha Dakshin Bahu Honoured by the King of Nepal for achievement in the Indian Film Industry^[40]

Nominated

• 1995, Filmfare Best Actress Award, 1942: A Love Story
• 1996, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Akele Hum Akele Tum
• 1997, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Khamoshi: The Musical
• 1999, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Dil Se..

Filmography[link]

See also[link]

• List of Indian film actresses
• Koirala family

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Manisha Koirala

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Manisha Koirala

• Manisha Koirala at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website of Manisha Koirala

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2011)

Amrish Puri
Amrish Puri at the premiere for The Hero: Love Story of a Spy
Born	Amrish Singh Puri (1932-06-22)22 June 1932 Jalandhar, Punjab, India
Died	12 January 2005(2005-01-12) (aged 72) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Resting place	Cremated
Occupation	Film actor
Years active	1970–2005
Spouse	Urmila Diveker (1957–2005) (his death)
Children	Rajiv, Namrata
Signature	150px

Amrish Puri (Punjabi: ਅਮਰੀਸ਼ ਪੁਰੀ), (Hindi: अमरीश पुरी); 22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005) was a leading theater and film actor from India, who was a key player in the Indian theater movement that picked up steam in the 1960s. He worked with notable playwrights of the time, such as Satyadev Dubey and Girish Karnad. However, he is primarily remembered for essaying iconic negative roles in Hindi cinema as well as other Indian and international film industries. To Indian audiences he is most remembered for his role as Mogambo in Shekhar Kapur's Hindi film Mr. India (1987), and to Western audiences he is best known as Mola Ram in Steven Spielberg's Hollywood film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984).

Early life and background[link]

Amrish Lal Puri was born in Nawanshahr (former Tehsil of District Jalandhar), Punjab to Sardar Nihal Singh Puri and Sardarni Ved Kaur as the third of five children. His siblings include elder brothers Chaman Puri and Madan Puri (both actors) and elder sister Chandrakanta and younger Harish Puri. He later moved to Shimla and graduated from B.M. College, Himachal Pradesh.

Amrish Puri came to Mumbai in the footsteps of his elder brothers Chaman Puri and Madan Puri (both actors), who was already an established actor known for playing negative roles. He failed his first screen test, and found a job with the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC). At the same time, he started performing at the Prithvi Theatre, in plays written by Satyadev Dubey. He eventually became well known as stage actor and won the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1979.^[1] This theatre recognition soon led to work in television ads and eventually to films at the late age of 40.

He went on to work in Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Hollywood, Punjabi, Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil films. Though he was successful in all of these industries, he is best known for his work in Bollywood cinema. He has appeared in over four hundred films. His dominating screen presence and baritone voice made him stand out amongst the other villains of the day. He is best known for his role as Mogambo in the 1987 blockbuster, Mr. India and for his portrayal of Mola Ram, the antagonist in Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

National Cinema[link]

Hindi

In 1971 he appeared in his first film, Prem Pujari although the first film he had signed for was Reshma Aur Sheraaa which was released in 1971. This was followed by many villain or supporting roles in numerous art films such as Shyam Benegal's Nishant, Manthan, and Bhumika and Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda. He also appeared in Govind Nihalani's film, Party in 1984.

Amrish Puri grew to became a staple of Hindi films in the 1980s playing mostly villainous roles, and attracting the most acclaim for his work in the 1987 hit film Mr. India, directed by Shekhar Kapur. He played an egotistical international super-villain, Mogambo, who frequently refers to himself in the third-person, expressing satisfaction at the actions of his underlings with the phrase, Mogambo khush hua (Mogambo is pleased). Since then the Mogambo catchphrase has become one of the best recognized lines in Hindi Cinema.

He also went on to play many positive supporting roles, including his famous role as Baldev Singh, the conservative father who eventually lets his daughter marry her love instead of being forced into an arranged marriage, in the Bollywood blockbuster Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995). Other positive roles include Group Captain Varghese, a Malayali officer in the Indian Air Force based film Vijeta, an ailing idealistic father in Ghatak: Lethal. He was a kind-hearted American businessman in Pardes (1997) and a genial grandfather in the films Chori Chori Chupke Chupke and Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai. He is also known to play a strict old man in comedy films like Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate, where he played a retired cop and Muskurahat where he played a retired judge.

His last films included Kisna: The Warrior Poet and Kachchi Sadak, which were released some time after his death.

Kannada

He acted in some Kannada films during the early days of his career. He played the protagonist role in a black & white off beat Kannada film Kaadu directed by Girish Karnad.He also acted in some other mainstream films.

Malayalam

He starred as the sadistic jailor in Kalapani in which co-acted Padmashri Lt.Colonel Mohanlal.

Punjabi

He is best known in Punjabi cinema for his role as the landlord villain Joginder Singh in the legendary film Chan Pardesi (1980). He also starred as the villain Zalam Singh in the religious Punjabi film Sat Sri Akal (1977). After twenty years, he returned to Punjabi cinema to make a brief appearance as the Sufi Saint in the acclaimed film Shaheed Uddham Singh (2000).

Telugu

He also appeared in Telugu films such as Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari, Major Chandrakanth, Aditya 369, Kondaveeti Donga, Aswamedham, Aakhari Poratam etc.

Tamil

He appeared in the Tamil film Dalapathi (1991), directed by Mani Ratnam, opposite Rajnikanth and Mammootty, Tamil and Malayalam superstars respectively. After Dalapathi, Amrish Puri made his second and last appearance in the Rajinkanth's film "Baba" (2002) in which he played the role of an evil tantrik who helps politicians and other evil elements to succeed in their hideous schemes.

International[link]

He is known to international audiences for his roles as Khan in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi (1982) and as the main antagonist Mola Ram in the Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). He shaved his head for the role, and it created such an impression that he kept his head shaved and became one of the most popular villains in Hindi Cinema. Amrish and Spielberg shared a great rapport and Spielberg often said in interviews that, "Amrish is my favorite villain- The best the world has ever produced and ever will!"^{[citation needed]}

Death[link]

He died on 12 January 2005, due to cerebral haemorrhage in Mumbai, Maharashtra, aged 72.

Awards[link]

• 1968: won: Maharashtra State Drama Competition
• 1979: won: Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Theatre
• 1990: Nominated: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award-Tridev
• 1986:won:Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award, Meri Jung
• 1991:won:Maharashtra State Gaurav Puraskar

• 1994:won:Sydney Film Festival, Best Actor Award – Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda
• 1994:won:Singapore International Film Festival, Best Actor Award – Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda
• 1996:Nominated:Filmfare Best Villain Award forKaran Arjun
• 1996:Nominated:Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award-Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
• 1993:Nominated:Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award Muskurahat
• 1994:Nominated:Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award-Gardish
• 1997:won:Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award-Ghatak
• 1997:won:Star Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor-Ghatak
• 1999:Nominated:Filmfare Best Villain Award forKoyla
• 1998:won:Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award-Virasat
• 1998:won:Star Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor-Virasat
• 2000:Nominated:Filmfare Best Villain Award forBaadshah
• 2002:Nominated:Filmfare Best Villain Award for Gadar: Ek Prem Katha

Filmography[link]

Amrish Puri acted in more than 400 films between 1967 - 2005.

Further reading[link]

• The Act of Life - An Autobiography by Amrish Puri with Jyoti Sabharwal.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Amrish Puri at Find a Grave
• Amrish Puri at the Internet Movie Database
• Obituary from rediff
• Obituary from Times of India

Ar Rahman may refer to:

• Ar-Rahman, sura of the Qur'an
• A. R. Rahman, Indian musician and composer

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

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