Madan puri

Madan Puri was one of the trio of great actors who mainly performed the negative/ villain roles in hindi movies with great perfection and talent and earned immense name and fame . The trio being Madan puri himself , his brother Amrish Puri ( in 70s) and Pran Sikand Ahluwalia. The other notable second rung villains were KN singh, Jeevan , Prem chopra , gulshan grover and Kulbhushan Kharbanda and others .
In film industry though some actors attain prominence instantly and at times without much effort while others like Madan Puri carve a notable legacy slowly and with consistency through hard -worked supporting roles both negative and positive.
Madan Puri was a distinguished artist who acted in over 430 films and made waves in Bollywood, gaining recognition for portraying antagonistic roles .
He was born on 30.9.1915 in Nawanshahr, Punjab, in a Punjabi Hindu family to father Nihal Chand Puri . They were four brothers with eldest chaman lal puri also being an actor who worked in over 95 films and younger Amrish puri as Mocambo proved to be the biggest ,most expensive and most popular villain from 1970 to 2004.
Madan Puri was lucky in the sense that he initially got a lot of help and support from his cousin – the then singing sensation Kundan Lal Sehgal .
Madan liked acting career since his early adolescence and like many wanted to be hero and did some uncredited small roles starting with film Khazanchi 1941 , but these films never clicked and he found his niche only as a villain – on the suggestion of Dev Anand.
Thus began his eventful career that spanned four decades, mostly as a chronic villain though in later life he switched to roles of a kindly elder .
He gradually earned recognition through his films from 1940s to 1950s and thereafter there was nothing that could stop him from marching ahead in several hundreds films .

In 1960s ,the acting graph of Puri continued to rise and he performed very well in some memorable big banner films like Rakhi (1962), Kashmir Ki Kali (1964), Waqt (1965) , Phool aur Paththar (1966), Upkar (1967), Aankhen (1968), Aradhana (1969) and Ittefaq (1969)
His other notable roles as villain were as the jealous rich man Manilal in “Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje” (1955), as a blackmailing employee in science fiction comedy film “ Mr. X in Bombay” (1964), as Dr. Acharya in the murder thriller famous film “Gumnaam” 1965), as the volatile henchman Balbir in “ Waqt” (1965), the lecherous Madan in film “Shagird” (1967), and rival gang-leader Samant in “Deewaar” (1975) besides many others.
He also had to his credit playing a Chinese villain, in six notable Hindi films – as John Chang in crime film “Howrah Bridge” (1958), as Chang in “ Singapore” (1960) , as Joseph Wong in film “China Town” (1962), as Comrade Chang in spy thriller “ Shatranj” (1969), again as Chang in Dev Anand’s “Prem Pujari” (1970) and another one as Wong in film “ Saazish” (1975) . He also played as Captain of an enemy power in the spy film “ Ankhen” in 1968 .
Madan Puri was a versatile and multi-facetted actor,
that enabled him to portray in multiple films in different roles such as a corrupt businessman , an edgy doctor, a knife-loving gangster, a stern father , an amiable uncle , an up right or corrupt police officer and politician , a heartless money-lender , an eccentric scientist , a greedy and wicked night-club owner , a cunning pimp , a brutal jailor , a devious foreign agent , a bloodthirsty dacoit and many more.
He also did and played a nice man’s roles in Dulhan wohi jo Piya mann bhaaye (1977), Akhiyon ke Jharokhe se (1978) and Noorie (1979) to perfection.
With his pervasive presence in movies, of all types from the 1940s to the 1980s, a popular saying in those times was “ if you want to make a movie then all you
need is a camera, some raw films and Madan Puri”
So whether the film was mythological or historic, a social or family drama, a romantic or crime thriller , Madan Puri performed in all with full perfection.
He also starred in several Punjabi films throughout his career such as Jatti, Jatt Punjabi and so on.
Once Madan Puri got established as a star actor , he helped his younger brother, Amrish Puri, in his initial filmy career.
He died on 13.1.1985 at the age of 69 at his residence at Bombay .
Several of his half finished films were released after his death until 1989 .
Madan Puri’s wife, Sheela Devi died a few years after him. Their son, Lt. Col. (Dr.) Kamlesh Puri, published a book about the life and times of Madan Puri titled “My Father, the Villain” in the year 2015 (on the 100th anniversary of Madan Puri’s birth).
Actors like Madan Puri will be remembered for decades if not for centuries.
A list of his prominent films is separately appended .

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Five stars

PROMINENT FILMS OF MADAN PURI

Meri Bahen (1944)
Vidya (1948)
Singaar (1949)
Anmol Ratan (1950)
Nadaan (1951)
Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955)
Nau Do Gyarah (1957)
Baarish (1957)
Howrah Bridge (1958)
Insan Jaag Utha (1959)
Kala Bazar (1960)
Jaali Note (1960)
China Town (1962)
Bees Saal Baad (1962) Kashmir Ki Kali (1964)
Ayee Milan Ki Bela (1964)
Shaheed (1965)
Gumnaam (1965)
Waqt (1965)
Phool Aur Patthar (1966)
Love in Tokyo (1966
Hamraaz (1967)
Upkar (1967)
Aankhen (1968)
Aadmi Aur Insaan (1969)
Aradhana (1969)
Ittefaq (1969)
Sawan Bhadon (1970)
Kati Patang (1970)
Yaadgaar (1970 )
Purab Aur Paschim (1970
Haathi Mere Saathi (1971)
Amar Prem (1971)
Guddi (1971)
Dastaan (1972)
Anuraag (1972)
Samadhi (1972)
Janwar Aur Insaan (1972)
Apna Desh (1972)
Gora Aur Kala (1972)
Dhund (1973)
Loafer (1973)
Dharma (1973)
Manoranjan (1974)
Chor Machaye Shor (1974)
Roti Kapda Aur Makaan (1974)
Zameer (1975)
Dharmatma (1975)
Kalicharan (1976 )
Bairaag (1976)
Dulhan Wahi Jo Piya Man Bhaye (1977)
Vishwanath (1978)
Heeralaal Pannalaal (1978)
Kaala Patthar (1979
The Burning Train (1980
Kranti (1981)
Vidhaata (1982)
Ganga Meri Maa (1983)
Andhaa Kaanoon (1983)

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