Mumbai, May 25 (IANS) Actor Vardhaan Puri, who is the grandson of Hindi cinema legend Amrish Puri, is celebrating 38 years of the science fiction film ‘Mr. India’ in which his grandfather essayed the iconic role of Mogambo.
Vardhan spoke about how the portrayal of the antagonist, who had nefarious intentions for the society, continues to resonate globally with the audience of all age groups. The actor spoke with IANS, as he shared a piece of his heart celebrating Hindi cinema’s favourite villain and character actor, Amrish Puri.
Vardhaan told IANS, “Mogambo is one of the most iconic characters globally and his relevance only keeps growing with time. The impact the dialogue ‘Mogambo, Khush Hua’ has had around the world of cinema bears testament to how my grandfather Amrish Puri, director Shekhar Kapur and writer Javed Akhtar curated art in its truest form”.
He further mentioned, “From the dialogue delivery, the large bulging eyes, and deep baritone to the golden and black costume, wig, rings and baton in hand – his character design and interpretation of Mogambo has been most loved by cinegoers alike worldover, but especially children. They are his biggest fans”.
‘Mr. India’ was directed by legendary filmmaker Shekhar Kapur off a script by veteran screenwriting duo Salim-Javed. It was their last film together before they parted ways.
The film told the story of Arun, a street violinist and philanthropist who rents an old house to take care of orphans, and how he becomes invisible to counter Mogambo, a criminal whose goal is to conquer India.
Mogambo operates from his hidden island, and monitors all the evil-doings perpetrated by his henchmen. Catchphrases like “Mogambo khush hua” and “Hail Mogambo!” used by his subordinates, show his complete authority over his minions.
Vardhan added, “A lot of the credit for Mogambo’s magic goes to Shekhar Kapur sir for advising him to treat the role as though he was performing Shakespeare for 8 year old children, because once a child starts loving a villain, you know you’ve created something immortal and iconic”.
Vardhaan made his debut with ‘Yeh Saali Aashiqui’ and was last seen in the digital film ‘Bobby Aur Rishi Ki Love Story’ directed by Kunal Kohli.
–IANS
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