Madan Puri

Madan Lal Puri was born in Rahon, Nawanshahr, British India to Nihal Chand Puri and Ved Kaur. He studied in Rahon. He was the second of five children, with elder brother Chaman Lal Puri, younger brothers Amrish Puri and Harish Lal Puri and younger sister Chandrakanta Mehra.[3]

Puri was one of the doyens of the Indian film industry in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was the first cousin of the singer K. L. Saigal,[1] with whose help he started to make a mark in Bollywood. Once Puri was an established star he did the same for his brother, Amrish Puri, by helping him in establishing himself in the movie world.

Puri had an acting career which spanned over 40 years from the 1940s through to the mid-1980s. He appeared in more than 430 films. His film debut was titled Ahinsa in 1946.[4] Madan made an average of eight films per year, playing villains and negative characters and the hero's or heroine's uncle, father or elder brother, grandfather, police officer and politician. He starred in a number of Punjabi films throughout his career such as Jatti, Jatt Punjabi and so on.

He died in 1985 of a heart attack at the age of 69.[5][6] He was a resident of R P Masani Road in Matunga, Mumbai, also known as Punjabi Galli, with other actors of that era including the Kapoors. Several films were released after his death until 1989 with his final being Santosh.

Puri's wife, Sheela Devi Puri (Wadhera), died a few years after him. He is survived by three sons. Pravesh Puri, Lt. Col. (Dr.) Kamlesh K. Puri and Ramesh Puri. His son Kamlesh has published a book about the life and times of Madan Puri titled My Father, the Villain.

• Watch his debut performance in Ahinsa on Gigaplex now
• Madan Puri on IMDb