The name Amrish Puri fills us with equal amounts of dread and warmth. Dread because Hindi cinema has not seen a bigger villain than him, Gabbar included. Warmth because the positive roles of this man will bring tears to your eyes. We are still scarred by the scene from Ghatak where he has a collar around his neck and is dragged around. The horrors of that scene are still fresh in our minds, Ghatak released in 1996. That's what being a spectacular actor means, you live in the memories of your audience in all your characters. Amrish Puri Birth Anniversary: 7 Villainous Looks of the Actor That Completely Bowled Us Over.

But today on his birthday we will talk about one other positive character of Amrish Puri that's a fan favourite. Puri as Raja Thakur in Virasat was strict and extremely rooted in his traditions. But what you may not know here is that this role came to him after it was rejected by Dilip Kumar and Rajesh Khanna.

Speaking to Rediff, many years back, Amrish Puri shared, "It was a role rejected by Dilip Kumarsaab and Rajesh Khanna. But I had acted with Priyan (Priyadarshan) before. I'd done positive roles in both his earlier films (Gardish and Muskurahat). I loved the role. He is a pleasure to work with." Amrish Puri Birth Anniversary: 5 Interesting Facts About The Legendary Actor That Will Baffle You.

That clarity of thought is truly contagious. That's why Amrish Puri was the highest-paid villain.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 22, 2023 08:20 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).