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'' 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, S ...

''.

Early life

During his school and college years, Agarwal was the sports ambassador. He studied Civil Engineering at the

Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (abbreviated IIT Roorkee) is a technical university located in Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India. It is the oldest engineering institution in India, and was founded as the College of Civil Engineering in Brit ...

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 secon ...

, 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 ''

'' as Samri, then as the vampire Nevla in ''

'' and once again as Samri in '' Saamri''. 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, w ...

'' 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.

Filmography

Bollywood Films

Hollywood

*''

'' (1994) - Tabaqui *'' Such a Long Journey'' (1998)

Television

* ''

'' (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