This iconic villain charged just Rs 1 more than hero, drove his own car, had no unnecessary expenses, name is…, last film was…

A discussion around the high entourage costs of Bollywood stars has been in the headlines for a while. Amid this, actor Saurabh Shukla shared his thoughts on the matter, revealing that the late legendary actor Amrish Puri never had entourage. In a recent interview, the Barfi actor shared that Amrish Puri had no staff and used to travel with one-make up artist.

Amrish Puri Had No Entourage, says Saurabh Shukla

Describing his work experience with Puri in the 2001 cult classic Nayak: The Real Hero, he shared with ANI, “At that time, it was enough for me that I was cast in a film. It was a big film and with a big cast – Anil Kapoor, Amrish Puri. It was a good experience. We enjoyed a lot working on the film. It was also the first time I met Amrish Puri sahab. I met him at a time in my life when I would look at stars from a distance, and what we understood from being a star was that they carry an entourage with them.”

Saurabh further said, “While working on Nayak, I came to know that Amrish Puri used to charge one rupee more than the lead actor in his films. This shows he was such a big star but he didn’t have a secretary and he didn’t have a driver. He just had a make-up man. I asked him, ‘Don’t you have a staff?’ He responded, ‘Main pagal hoon kya? Paise main kamaun aur baanta rahun staff mein (Am I mad that I earn all my money and distribute it to the staff). That is the reason I have come to this interview driving my own car, and I don’t go with an entourage.”

Celebrated for his versatility, Amrish Puri rose to fame in the 1980s and 1990s with his impeccable screen presence and commanding voice, especially in villainous roles. His filmography includes hits like Vidhaata, Shakti, Hero, Meri Jung, Nagina, Mr India, Shahenshah, Ram Lakhan, and Tridev. His last film was Kisna: The Warrior Poet, which was released in 2005 after his demise on January 12, 2005.

Whereas, Saurabh Shukla, on the work front, was last seen in Jolly LLB 3, reprising his role as Judge Sunderlal Tripathi from the first two installments- Jolly LLB and Jolly LLB 2. Besides him, the legal comedy drama also starred Akshay Kumar, Arshad Warsi, Seema Biswas, and Gajraj Rao.

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