Veteran actor Chaman Puri remains a respected figure in Hindi cinema. He wasp part of some truly iconic films including Afsana, Shart, Howrah Bridge, Masoom, Leader, Shaheed, Mamta, The Train, Victoria No. 203, The Train, and many more.
Early Life
Chaman Puri was born on October 2, 1914, in Rahon, Nawanshahr, Punjab. His father was Lala Nihal Chand Puri and Ved Kaur. Chaman Puri was the eldest of five siblings. His had three brothers Madan Puri, Amrish Puri, and Harish Lal Puri, and a sister Chandrakanta Mehra. He was the first cousin of the legendary singer K. L. Saigal. Saigal’s drinking habit was the reason that Lala Nihal Chand was against the whole film business. But his sons went on to join the film industry despite his opposition.
Chaman Puri On Screen
It’s widely reported that Chamn Puri made his debut in 1938 with the KL Saigal-starrer film Street Singer. But we believe that in Chaman Puri was not in Street Singer, there was another actor named Chamanlal. Chaman Puri on the other hand made his debut with Prafulla Roy’s Abhagin (1938) starring Moti Lal He made his Punjabi film debut with Pardesi Dhola in 1941.
Throughout the 1940s Puri struggled to get good roles. After many years he got films like Lekh (1949), Raat Ki Rani (1949), Sangram (1950), Nadaan (1951), and Bahar (1951), which gave him some exposure.
In 1951 he acted in BR Chopra’s debut film Afsana starring Ashok Kumar and Veena. in the film Puri played the role of blid father of Veena. Some of his early films include Jaggu (1952), Aansoo (1953), Shart (1954), Mastana (1954), Khaibar (1954), Abe Hayat (1955), Qeemat (1956), 26 January (1957), Talaash (1957), Paying Guest (1957), Howrah Bridge (1958), and Patang (1960), among others. In Satyen Bose’s Masoom (1960), Puri played the sympathetic headmaster of the school.
Chaman Puri – A Seasoned Actor
Chaman Puri made his name as one of the top character actors in Hindi cinema. He continued to act till the late 1980s. Puri worked with all the big stars of the time including Ashok Kumar, Dilip Kumar, Dharmendra, Manoj Kumar, Rajesh Khanna, Rajendra Kumar and many more.
His filmography is extensive, with roles in many popular films like Leader (1964), Shaheed (1965), Akashdeep (1965), Mamta (1966), Pyar Kiye Jaa (1966), “The Train (1970), “Geet (1970), Aan Milo Sajna (1970), Hum Tum Aur Woh (1971), Victoria No. 203 (1972), Rocky Mera Naam (1973), Fakira (1976), Aap Beati (1976), Mamta (1977), Wangar (1977), Do Musafir (1978), Khwab (1980), Pyar Jhukta Nahin (1985), Ek Chitthi Pyar Bhari (1985), Khazana (1987), Aulad (1987), Pyaar Ka Pahela Sawan, and many more.
Chaman Puri had a warm personality and impeceble screen presence. These qualities along with his friendly nature made him one of the most soughtafter character actor. Puri not only gave many memorable films he also inspired future generations of actors. His brothers Madan Puri and Amrish Puri went on to become legendary villains of Hindi cinema.
Chaman Puri passed away on June 26, 1998, in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He was survived by his sons Anoop, Pradip, Vinod, and Sunil Puri and daughters Aruna and Ritoo Puri.
Chaman Puri on IMDB
