‘Steven Spielberg was shocked to know that Amrish Puri was working on 22 films at the same time,’ reveal Rajeev Puri and Vardhan Puri – Exclusive – Times of India

Rajeev, you attended the premiere of Gadar-Ek Prem Katha, one of the biggest hits of Amrish Puri’s career…

It was a proud moment for us to see my father roaring on the screen one more time.He would narrate so many stories from the sets, I remember they were shooting for the film in Amritsar and one day there was so much crowd that it got extremely chaotic. It was so crowded that it was not possible for actors to act and then dad asked for a public address system and spoke on the mic telling the crowd to calm down as they were here to work and if they continued to make noise like this they won’t be able to work. And just like magic within minutes there was pin drop silence on the set. He was extremely loved and adored in Punjab.

Vardhan, what was your experience of watching Gadar on the big screen?

It was surreal, because for me he was my grandfather. And I never thought that he was the antagonist or the villain of the film. I always considered him to be the hero, because of my emotional connection, my bond with him. I was always cheering for him. Gadar was as special as any other film of his, but when I saw the film I was mesmerised by it. It was very difficult for me to segregate my grandfather from the actor, which I could do only once I grew older. Back then I used to watch only him in the film but now since I’m a student of cinema, this time around I will watch the entire film and not just my grandfather.

Vardhan, in your growing up years, Amrish Puri was still doing a lot of negative roles. Were you or your friends afraid of him?

Initially my friend’s parents were wondering if they should allow their children over. They would assume him to be this man who would be sitting by the pool wearing a bathrobe, with cigar in one hand and single malt in another. But he was nothing like that. He was a workaholic. I don’t think he was interested in enjoying the luxuries he had earned. He was all about his family and his work.
So when my friend actually got the opportunity to meet him, he realised he was a gentle giant and they fell in love with him. So be it a birthday party or any celebration, all the children would be with him. Kids were crazy about him ever since he did Mogambo in Mr India. His fan base among children was unmatched.

Rajeev:

He was loved by children, in fact he used to get mobbed by them. He was called Mogambo uncle by them. He was invited to so many school functions as Chief Guest because children wanted him. All this happened within a few months of the release of Mr India. In fact, so many of our friends still use the dialogue ‘Mogambo Khush Hua’ when they feel happy about something.

Did you go with him on his sets?
Vardhan:

I wasn’t allowed. My grandfather always felt before the mind fully matures, if his grandchildren catch the adulation because of his achievements, then it will go to their head. Until a certain age we weren’t allowed. I remember the few times that we went to the sets we were treated like royalty. Everyone wanted to give us the best treatment to apparently make my grandfather happy, but it never made him happy as it would make us feel that we are special from other children.This particularly happened on the sets of Chori Chori Chupke Chupke – from Salman Khan to Rani Mukerji to Preity Zinta to Abbas-Mustan sir – they were just pampering us. They just wanted to make sure that Amrish Puri’s grandchildren have a time of their life. We forgot that we were in school, it was heaven for us.

Steven Spielberg wrote a note for Mr Amrish Puri, which read, “To my best villain. You are unique in all the world as a bad guy. And in the real world we live in, you are a terrific human being. I loved every minute of our work together, can’t wait to work with you again.” What memories do you have about Indian Jones and The Temple of Doom which had Mr Amrish Puri as Mola Ram?

Rajeev:

By qualification I’m a navigating officer. So when Indian Jones and The Temple of Doom was being shot, I was on the ship. But I remember the time when Steven Spielberg came down to audition my father. Spielberg and his team had zeroed down on dad, but they were zapped when they were told that dad was working on 22 films at the same time. They were just wondering how it was even possible. But it was a fact, he would shoot in Mumbai in the morning, then travel to Hyderabad and then travel to Chennai etc. And it was the only time Steven Spielberg came to India to audition an actor, as he was very curious to meet dad. They signed the film here and the shooting of the film took place in London where an entire set was erected and some portions were shot in Sri Lanka.

Is it also true that Mr Amrish Puri shaved his head for Indian Jones and The Temple of Doom and then carried on with that look forever?
Rajeev:

No, he had shaved his head for a film just before Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom and Spielberg loved the look. And he asked him not to change the look. After the success of Indiana Jones, he got a lot of offers from the West, his agents asked him to sign films. But Dad was devoted to the Indian film industry and he decided to continue here. And by god’s grace he was doing very well here.

Some of his dialogues are still very famous, be it DDLJ or Mr India…

Vardhan:

Recently I was shooting in London and I was at the airport, there was this NRI couple with their kids in the lounge. The daughter came up to the father and told him she wanted to have a sandwich and her father replied ‘Jaa Simran jaa, jee le apni zindagi’. Coincidentally that little girl’s name was also Simran. There are billions of people on earth and this happened in front of me.

Rajeev:

In fact, in some of the weddings that I have attended, so many fathers have said this same line to their daughters during the bidaai. So it is a very auspicious line.

Any one performance of Mr Amrish Puri that surprised you?
Rajeev:

There have been many, but there was this one film called Waaris which was directed by Raveendra Peepat. That was one negative role which was very cruel. But he has done roles where directors have handled him so well, like the way Rakesh Roshan handled him in Karan Arjun and also in Koyla. Even in Priyadarshan’s Saza-E-Kala Pani he played the role of Mirza Khan who was also very cruel. And there have been so many times when he would have two releases on the same day, one negative and one positive. He was someone for whom image didn’t matter, he was accepted in all. He’s also done films where he’s not doing comedy but the situation is so funny, there were so many such scenes like Chachi 420. Also the way Rajkumar Santoshi handled him in films like China Gate.

One scene which I don’t think we can ever see again is where Danny Denzongpa puts a dog leash around Mr Amrish Puri’s neck in Ghatak…

Rajeev:

Back then, dad had a fan club and they had a big complaint against him for doing that scene. They were upset with him. Then dad had to explain that it is just a film and in films, such things can happen. But the credit goes to Rajkumar Santoshi for conceiving a scene like this.

Vardhan:

I’m told that after Ghatak, a long crowd had gathered outside Danny Sir’s place. They were fuming as to how he could do something like this to Amrish Puri. The crowd had to be pacified and they had to be explained that he can never do such a thing to him. He and daadu (Amrish Puri) were extremely close friends.