Steven Spielberg once called this Bollywood legend 'world's best villain' even after he refused to audition for him

Over the decades, there have been several Indian actors who have crossed over to the West to do substantial roles in major Hollywood or European productions. From Kabir Bedi to Irrfan Khan and Priyanka Chopra, the list is ever-growing. But very few have been able to leave their mark on major franchises and filmmakers quite like Amrish Puri did with just a couple of appearances in western films in the 80s.

When Amrish Puri impressed Steven Spielberg

In 1983, Steven Spielberg was busy in the pre-production of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the prequel to his 1981 hit Raiders of the Lost Ark. Harrison Ford was set to reprise his role as Indiana Jones. Spielberg set the film in India with a focus on the Thugee cult. Prominent Indian actor Roshan Seth was cast. But Spielberg wanted the villain to be played by an Indian as well. Casting director Dolly Thakore sent Spielberg some pictures of Amrish Puri from the 1980 film Gehrayee and the director was convinced he had his man.

Amrish Puri as Mola Ram in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

The roadblock was that Puri refused to audition for the role. He asked Spielberg’s team to visit him on the set of the film he was shooting and observe him there. He also refused to speak his lines in English, famously saying, “How does Spielberg know what language do I speak? He would know me as an actor”. Eventually, the stars aligned and Puri came on board. He played the ruthless Thugee cult head Mola Ram, considered one of the best Hollywood villains ever. Years later, Spielberg said about his actor: “Amrish is my favourite villain. The best the world has ever produced and ever will”.

Harrison Ford on Amrish Puri

Harrison Ford, who went toe to toe with Puri in Temple of Doom, always held the actor in high regard. In a recent interview with PTI, the actor said, “He was a wonderful person, a very charming man. He was nothing like the character that he played in our film. Very sophisticated. I really admired him and enjoyed working with him. We had a good time together.”

Amrish Puri, who was born on this day in 1932, died in 2004 at the age of 72. Regarded as one of the greatest villains in Bollywood history, the versatile actor also notably played comedic and character roles later in his career.