Aniruddh Agarwal

{{short description|Indian actor (born 1949)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2016}}

{{Use Indian English|date=February 2016}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Aniruddh Agarwal

| image =

| caption =

|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1949|12|20|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Dehradun, United Provinces, India

| height = {{convert|6|ft|5|in|m|abbr=on}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-40089750|title=The benign menace of Bollywood's cult 'monster'|publisher=Shamya Dasgupta|date=2017-06-19|accessdate=2017-11-08}}{{cite web|url=https://actorapher.wordpress.com/2014/09/17/ajay-agarwal/|title=Biographies of Indian actors|publisher=Susanto Sen|date=2014-07-17 |accessdate=2017-11-08}}

| occupation = Actor

| yearsactive = 1975–2010

}}

Aniruddh "Ajay" Agarwal (born 20 December 1949) is a retired Indian actor. He is known for his appearances in horror films such as Purana Mandir, Bandh Darwaza, and Saamri as well as starring in episodes of Zee Horror Show.

Early life

During his school and college years, Agarwal was a sports ambassador. He studied Civil Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, before graduating in 1974. He moved to Mumbai, where he initially started working as an engineer{{cite web|date=2017-06-19|title=The benign menace of Bollywood's cult 'monster'|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-40089750|website=BBC Online|publisher=Shamya Dasgupta|accessdate=2017-08-03}} but quit his job to begin his acting career.{{cite web|url=https://actorapher.wordpress.com/2014/09/17/ajay-agarwal/|title=Biographies of Indian actors|publisher=Susanto Sen|date=2014-07-17 |accessdate=2015-07-11}}

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, first starring in their film Purana Mandir as Samri, then as the vampire Nevla in Bandh Darwaza and once again as Samri in Saamri. He also featured in two Hollywood films; playing a supporting antagonist in Stephen Sommers' 1994 live action adaptation of The Jungle Book 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0012868/bio|title=Anirudh Agarwal - Biography|publisher=IMDb.com|accessdate=2017-04-19}}

Filmography

class="wikitable sortable"
Year

! Film

! Role

!Notes

1982Teri Maang Sitaron Se Bhar Doon|
1984Purana MandirSamri

|

1984AwaazMalhotra Henchman

|

19853D SaamriDharmesh Saxena 'Samri'

|

1986Allah RakhaGorilla fighter

|

1986AvinashPratap's Henhman

|

rowspan="2"|1988Kasam|
Mar Mitenge|
1989JaadugarNot known

|

1989Ram LakhanJeeva

|

1990Tum Mere HoKaalu Sapera

|

1990Bandh DarwazaNevla

|

1990Aaj Ka ArjunNot known

|

1992TahalkaDong's Henchman

|

1993GopalaaVikraal, Prisoner in Jail

|

rowspan="2"|1994Bandit QueenBabu Gurjjar

|

The Jungle BookTabaquiEnglish film
1995TrimurtiTalaf

|

1998Such a Long JourneyEnglish film
1999Dulhan Bani DaayanNot known

|

2000MelaKaali

|

rowspan="2"| 2003Talaash: The Hunt BeginsPassenger on Train

|

Palnati Brahmanayudu| Telugu film
2007Journey Bombay to Goa Laughter UnlimitedJunglee

|

2010MallikaSamri

|

2010Bachao: Inside Bhoot HaiNot known

|

|

=Television=

References

{{Reflist}}