Vardhan shares his fond memories with grandfather Amrish Puri, says “he is always going to be my best friend”

New Delhi [India], July 27 (ANI): Veteran actor Amrish Puri was inarguably one of the finest actors in the Indian film industry. His grandson, Vardhan Puri, is following in his grandfather’s footsteps and making his mark as an actor. Vardhan shared a special bond with his grandfather, candidly spoke about it, and recalled his fond memories with him.

In a conversation with ANI, he remembered the lessons he learned from him as an actor and said, “My grandfather always told me that there’s no such thing as talent. ‘You need to work very hard as an actor. You need to be disciplined and punctual. And as an actor, you need to understand that you can’t say that acting is going to be a big part of my life. No, acting has to become your entire life. You have to give yourself to your art. You have to give yourself to your audience. Now you belong to them. You have dedicated your life to them.'”

He continued, “So, he was so serious about his craft. And he is always going to be my best friend. He is my God. He was a man who inspired me to be a good human being before being a good actor because I don’t think there was a human being like him.”

Vardhan went down memory lane and recalled some cherished memories with his late grandfather that are always going to stay with him.

Puri became one of the most renowned actors in Bollywood. One can’t forget his role as Baldev Singh, a strict father, in ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’.

Vardhan remembered how director Aditya Chopra visited his house and narrated the script of the 1995 film ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol.

“I have this memory of the narration of ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ that happened at my house. I had no idea who Adi Chopra sir was. Adi Chopra sir, of course, later became my mentor, and he trained me in film direction and film writing. I worked with his company for a very long time. But of course, I didn’t know who he was at that time, and I was sitting on my grandfather’s lap while Adi sir was narrating the story. I remember how I felt at that moment. And even though I was so tiny, I don’t know how I have memories of this, but I remember the narration getting over, and my grandfather was just awestruck because Adi sir was narrating without a script. He just knew every beat of the film.”

“And my grandfather said that I will definitely do this film because I can see your conviction. And Adi sir was so taken aback. And he said that you know, Amrish ji, if you didn’t say yes to the film, I would not make this movie. So that is one very strong memory I have when it comes to cinema,” he added.

Vardhan shared that he had a lot of fun with his late grandfather. They both loved watching movies and enjoying food together.

As he mentioned, “We both enjoyed eating a lot of good food together and watching a lot of great cinema together. We watched ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ maybe 500 times together. We watched Tom and Jerry and all Chaplin movies together. So, yes, many sweet memories will always stay with me forever.”

Vardhan is currently seen in ‘Bloody Ishq’, also starring Avika Gor. The film is directed by Vikram Bhatt and produced by Mahesh Bhatt. The actor spoke about the collaboration with the acclaimed filmmakers and how it happened.

He shared, “Mahesh Bhatt sahab called me in 2015 when I was still an assistant director, and he just told me that I’ve been hearing about you, and I’m very curious to meet you. Will you come and meet me? I was an assistant director, and I don’t know how he assumed that I wanted to act. But it was true. And he very soon approached me with a film that didn’t happen. That film never got made. Then he approached me with another film. And it kept happening, kept happening. Every time it didn’t happen, it broke my heart. And I said, why isn’t this happening? And a year had passed. One day, I got his call, and he said that Vikram Bhatt would call me as he was making a film.”

“I listened to the story. And in the middle of the narration, I said, sir, I’m doing this. I met Vikram, sir. And then Bhatt sir met me there. And he said, do this film. I said, yes. So then our journey started. And our relationship continued. And on set, Vikram sir used to direct me, and Bhatt sir used to be there. He was our mentor in the film. He guided us. He stimulated us. He gave us a lot in this film. And living with Vikram sir and Bhatt sir, living with their magic, it’s been a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience,” he added.

Vardhan is excited about his upcoming projects. He has completed shooting for ‘Nautanki’ and is busy with another untitled project.

He also spoke about his future project and said, “At the moment, I’m shooting for an untitled film, which is an intense love story. And I’m not allowed to talk too much about it. But I’m here in England shooting for the movie.”

The film was released on Disney+ Hotstar.