Anirudh "Ajay" Agarwal (born 20 December 1949) is a retired Indian actor. He is known for his appearances in horror films such as ''
Purana Mandir
''Purana Mandir'' ( ''The Old Temple'') is a 1984 Indian Hindi-language horror film directed by the Ramsay brothers and produced by Kanta Ramsay. The soundtrack was composed by Ajit Singh.
Typical of Ramsay's other works, the film chronicles th ...
'', ''
Bandh Darwaza
''Bandh Darwaza'' (Translation: ''Closed Door'') is a 1990 Bollywood horror movie starring Kunika, Manjeet Kullar, Aruna Irani, Anirudh Agarwal and the Afghan actor Hashmat Khan. The film soundtrack was composed by the Anand–Milind brothers ...
'', and ''
Saamri
Saamri is a Bollywood horror film released in 1985. It was produced and directed by Shyam and Tulsi Ramsay, with a story by J. K. Ahuja, dialogue by Mahendra Dehlvi and Safi Ur-Rahman, and a screenplay by Kumar Ramsay.
Plot
Dharmesh Saxena, ...
'' as well as starring in episodes of ''
Zee Horror Show
''The Zee Horror Show'' is an Indian horror weekly television series presented by Ramsay Brothers and that aired on Zee TV from 1993 to 2001.
The first episode was titled "Dastak" which was telecast on 9 August 1993 and featured Pankaj Dheer, ...
''.
Early life
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
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
, where he initially started work as an engineer
but quit his job to begin his acting career.
Career
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
Ramsay Brothers is a pseudonym or brand name used for a family of Bollywood filmmakers, the sons and grandsons of F.U. Ramsay. They are famous for making the genre of horror films synonymous with the name "Ramsay Brothers."
History
The actual surn ...
, first starring in their film ''
Purana Mandir
''Purana Mandir'' ( ''The Old Temple'') is a 1984 Indian Hindi-language horror film directed by the Ramsay brothers and produced by Kanta Ramsay. The soundtrack was composed by Ajit Singh.
Typical of Ramsay's other works, the film chronicles th ...
'' as Samri, then as the vampire Nevla in ''
Bandh Darwaza
''Bandh Darwaza'' (Translation: ''Closed Door'') is a 1990 Bollywood horror movie starring Kunika, Manjeet Kullar, Aruna Irani, Anirudh Agarwal and the Afghan actor Hashmat Khan. The film soundtrack was composed by the Anand–Milind brothers ...
'' and once again as Samri in ''
Saamri
Saamri is a Bollywood horror film released in 1985. It was produced and directed by Shyam and Tulsi Ramsay, with a story by J. K. Ahuja, dialogue by Mahendra Dehlvi and Safi Ur-Rahman, and a screenplay by Kumar Ramsay.
Plot
Dharmesh Saxena, ...
''. He also featured in two Hollywood films; playing a supporting antagonist in
Stephen Sommers
Stephen Sommers (born March 20, 1962) is an American filmmaker, best known for big-budget action movies, such as ''The Mummy'' (1999), its sequel, ''The Mummy Returns'' (2001), ''Van Helsing'' (2004), and '' G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra'' (2009). ...
' 1994 live action adaptation of ''
The Jungle Book
''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, ...
'' 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
Mallika is a Hindu/Sanskrit Indian feminine given name, which means "jasmine".''Baby Names''"Given Name Mallika" Retrieved on 27 January 2016. Notable people with the name include:
*Mallika (actress), Indian actress
* Mallika Chabba (born 1985), ...
'' in 2010, Agarwal retired from acting due to film roles becoming scarce.
Filmography
Bollywood Films
Hollywood
*''
The Jungle Book
''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, ...
'' (1994) - Tabaqui
*''
Such a Long Journey'' (1998)
Television
* ''
Zee Horror Show
''The Zee Horror Show'' is an Indian horror weekly television series presented by Ramsay Brothers and that aired on Zee TV from 1993 to 2001.
The first episode was titled "Dastak" which was telecast on 9 August 1993 and featured Pankaj Dheer, ...
'' (1993)
* ''
Tu Tu Main Main
''Tu Tu Main Main'' (English: ''Squabble'') is an Indian sitcom television sitcom which originally aired on DD Metro and later STAR Plus directed by Sachin Pilgaonkar. The series first premiered on DD Metro in 1994 till 1996 before it moved to ...
'' (1994)
* ''
Mano Ya Na Mano'' (1995)
* ''
Shaktimaan
Shaktimaan is an Indian Hindi-language Superhero fiction, superhero television show, created by Mukesh Khanna that aired on DD National from 13 September 1997 to 27 March 2005.
Producer Mukesh Khanna played the role of Shaktimaan and his alt ...
'' (1997)
*
''Hudd Kar Di (1999)''
References
External links
*
*
Indian male film actors
Male actors in Hindi cinema
Indian male television actors
1949 births
Living people
21st-century Indian male actors
{{India-actor-stub