Talking about the inspiration behind "My father the villain” the writer Kamlesh Puri says , "we always thought of our father, Madan puri as a mid-level film actor who went to work in the morning and came home in the evening like an office goer. There was no glamor or loud dressing. Just a white shirt and light coloured trousers. He had a diary as his secretary.
He passed away on January 13, 1985 after a long bout with cancer. we were surprised at to see the large attendance of film personalities like Ashok Kumar, Raj Kapoor and the entire Kapoor khandan from Shami to Rishi and their wives, the Chopras, the Mehras, the Anands and others at his funeral. Most studios closed for a couple of hours so that actors and staff could attend his funeral. I then realised that our father was a popular man in his film community. That memory stayed with me.
Two decades later I was watching a movie with my grandchildren and I pointed out that the person on the screen was my father and their great grandfather. It did not connect. I was hurt that his own had forgotten a great family man and popular film actor. I decided to record some anecdotes of his life for posterity. It gradually became a book.
So what was his off screen persona like?
His favourite comment was “when I step out of my house, I am Madan Puri, the film actor, the villain. However, the moment I enter my house, I am Madan Puri the family man. I never allow the two personas to interact unless I permit”.
We never saw a film actor enter our house except for actor ManMohan Krishna who was like a family member. That relationship went back one generation.
He never served drinks at home except to his two sons, my elder brother Pravesh, a merchant navy officer and me. The younger brother ramnesh was too young to be offered a drink. Even then it was one drink and no more. Our wives and children never visited a studio or attended film parties. Only our mother accompanied him.
He liked nothing better than to sit around with family and play cards or play with the grandchildren or chat with his sons. Sometimes his other film actor brothers, chaman puri and amrish puri would come over with their families.
Does the book cover many other characters?
When I decided to write his biography it was more than two decades after his departure. Most of his contemporaries had passed away. I was able to interview about twenty actors like all the Kapoors, Manoj Kumar, Prem chopra, Shatrughan Sinha and directors like Shakti Samantha, Chandrashekhar, Lekh tandon and Raj Kumar Kohli.
You’ve been in the army, what propelled you towards writing?
I was always been fond of writing. During my school days I had won the third prize in essay writing amongst all Bombay schools. I like writing poetry. During my 37 years of service I helped update a couple of army regimental histories and finally I sat down and wrote a doctoral thesis on indo –American relations (1979-1989). It took about six years.
Does writing energize you or exhaust you?
It energizes me. New thoughts emerge. One can study a situation from different perspectives. A finished work is like your child. You have created it.
What next?
At the age of 21 after I was commissioned in the army I told my father that I wanted to marry a Sindhi schoolmate. Initially he was reluctant and said that he would be happier if I selected a girl from our Punjabi community. When I insisted, he agreed and made a telling comment. “Partition uprooted the Sindhi from their homeland and made them paupers”. Yet, he had never seen a Sindhi beggar. They had an intrinsic self-respect. When my parents met my beautiful girlfriend, they were totally charmed.
I want to write a book on the Sindhi and dedicate it to my mother-in-law who was a living example of “beaten but not broken”. I have done some research on the subject and hope to complete it someday.
My first book was located in a suburb of Bombay called Matunga. There is a lane called R P Masani road aka College back road aka Punjabi galli aka Hollywood lane as it had a large number of film actors living in it. It is focused on my father and his actor colleagues.
I have nearly completed my second book, which is about other film people who lived in that locality like singer Manna Dey and many music directors, cameramen, art directors.
