If
Boney
Kapoor’s
1987
superhero
film

Mr.
India
turned
Amrish
Puri
into
the
comic
book
villain
Mogambo,
who
remains
a
household
name
even
after
37
years,
then
Mushir-Riaz
action-drama
Virasat,
which
released
exactly
a
decade
later
in
1997,
helped
the
actor
change
the
course
of
his
career
with
a
strong
positive
supporting
role.
However,
when
director
Priyadarshan
proposed
casting
Bollywood’s
popular
villain
as
Raja
Thakur,
many
tried
to
dissuade
him,
pointing
out
that
he
would
never
be
accepted
in
a
role
played
by
Shivaji
Ganesan
in
the
1992
Tamil
original.

Vedaa:
All
About
The
Action
Thriller
Before
Its
Release
Date;
Cast,
Plot,
OTT
Platform,
Budget
&
More!

More
About
Amrish
Puri’s
Role
In
Virasat

Raja
Thakur
is
Anil
Kapoor’s
father
whose
sudden
heart
attack,
brought
on
by
disrespect
in
the
village
panchayat,
compels
his
foreign-returned
son
to
scrap
his
plans,
stay
back
in
his
ancestral
village,
marry
a
village
girl
instead
of
his
girlfriend
and
take
his
father’s
place
as
the
zamindar.
According
to
reports,
Dilip
Kumar,
Raaj
Kumar
and
Sunil
Dutt
had
all
been
considered
for
the
role
before
Amrish
Puri
entered
the
picture.

In
journalist
Roshmila
Bhattacharya’s
book,

Bad
Men,
the
actor’s
grandson,
Vardhan
Puri,
confirms
that
Dilip
Kumar
was
indeed
the
first
choice
for
the
role
and
Mushir-Riaz,
Priyadarshan
and
Boney
Kapoor
had
even
approached
him.
“But
after
listening
to
the
narration,
Dilip

sahab
told
them
that
he
could
see
only
Amrish
Puri
as
Raja
Thakur.
After
hearing
this,
a
phone
call
was
made
to
Kamal
Haasan,
on
whose
story
the
film
was
based.
After
consulting
him,
my
grandfather
was
approached,” shares
the
younger
Puri
who
is
an
actor
himself.

Vardhan
further
reveals
in
this
book
released
last
month
by
Rupa
Publications,
that
before
accepting
the
role,
his
grandfather
had
a
word
with
Dilip
Kumar.
The
thespian
reiterated
what
he
had
told
the
producer
duo,
the
director
and
Boney
Kapoor.
“His
endorsement
meant
a
lot
to
my
grandfather
because
he
had
grown
up
idolizing
Dilip
sahab,
mesmerized
by
his
performances
on
screen,”
he
adds.
Raja
Thakur
was
unlike
his
usual
villainous
roles,
but
as
Amrish
Puri
himself
had
pointed
out,
he
was
a
dutiful
father
and
a
lovable
grandfather
in
real
life.

Jaya
Bachchan’s
Old
Video
Saying
Aishwarya
Rai
‘Is
Not
My
Daughter’ Goes
Viral
Amid
Abhi-Aish
Divorce
Rumours

Bad
Men:
Bollywood’s
Iconic
Villains
is
Roshmila
Bhattacharya’s
fourth
book
after

Bad
Man,
the
memoir
of
Gulshan
Grover,

Matinee
Men:
My
Journey
Through
Bollywood
and
Spooked!
Bollywood’s
Encounters
with
the
Paranormal.
It
showcases
13
popular
bad
men,
including
Pran,
Ajit,
Jeevan
and
Kiran
Kumar,
Ranjeet,
Danny
Denzongpa,
Prem
Chopra,
Amjad
Khan,
Shakti
Kapoor,
Gulshan
Grover,
Sadashiv
Amrapurkar,
Ashutosh
Rana,
Puneet
Issar
and
Amjad
himself.
It
is
packed
with
many
such
anecdotes
from
the
author’s
personal
interactions
with
these
khalnayaks,
the
friends,
family
and
colleagues.