Aniruddh Agarwal

Aniruddh Agarwal
Born (1949-12-20) 20 December 1949 (age 74)
OccupationActor
Years active1975–2010
Height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)[1][2]

Aniruddh "Ajay" Agarwal (born 20 December 1949) is a retired Indian actor. He is known for his appearances in horror films such as Purana Mandir, Bandh Darwaza, and Saamri as well as starring in episodes of Zee Horror Show.

Early life

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During his school and college years, Agarwal was the sports ambassador. He studied Civil Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, before graduating in 1974. He moved to Mumbai, where he initially started working as an engineer[3] but quit his job to begin his acting career.[4]

Career

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Due to his somewhat intimidating appearance, caused by a tumor near his pituitary gland, Agarwal starred in Hindi films and television as demonic/ghostly characters or villains in general. He most notably worked with the Ramsay brothers, first starring in their film Purana Mandir as Samri, then as the vampire Nevla in Bandh Darwaza and once again as Samri in Saamri. He also featured in two Hollywood films; playing a supporting antagonist in Stephen Sommers' 1994 live action adaptation of The Jungle Book and later briefly appearing in Such a Long Journey.

And in 1994, when he was approached by Shekhar Kapur for the role of Babu Gujjar in Bandit Queen, it was a defining moment as he got the right opportunity to demonstrate his versatility as an artist. He later joined hands with his friends Aamir Khan for Mela in 2000 and with Akshay Kumar for Talash: The Hunt Begins in 2003.

Following a cameo in Mallika in 2010, Agarwal retired from acting due to film roles becoming scarce.[3][5]

Filmography

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Year Film Role Notes
1982 Teri Maang Sitaron Se Bhar Doon
1984 Purana Mandir Samri
1984 Awaaz Malhotra Henchman
1985 3D Saamri Dharmesh Saxena 'Samri'
1986 Allah Rakha Gorilla fighter
1986 Avinash Pratap's Henhman
1988 Kasam
Mar Mitenge
1989 Jaadugar Not known
1989 Ram Lakhan Jeeva
1990 Tum Mere Ho Kaalu Sapera
1990 Bandh Darwaza Nevla
1990 Aaj Ka Arjun Not known
1992 Tahalka Dong's Henchman
1993 Gopalaa Vikraal, Prisoner in Jail
1994 Bandit Queen Babu Gurjjar
The Jungle Book Tabaqui English film
1995 Trimurti Talaf
1998 Such a Long Journey English film
1999 Dulhan Bani Daayan Not known
2000 Mela Kaali
2003 Talaash: The Hunt Begins Passenger on Train
Palnati Brahmanayudu Telugu film
2007 Journey Bombay to Goa Laughter Unlimited Junglee
2010 Mallika Samri
2010 Bachao: Inside Bhoot Hai Not known

Television

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References

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  1. ^ "The benign menace of Bollywood's cult 'monster'". Shamya Dasgupta. 19 June 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  2. ^ "Biographies of Indian actors". Susanto Sen. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  3. ^ a b "The benign menace of Bollywood's cult 'monster'". BBC Online. Shamya Dasgupta. 19 June 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  4. ^ "Biographies of Indian actors". Susanto Sen. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  5. ^ "Anirudh Agarwal - Biography". IMDb.com. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
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