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 The Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT- Roorkee or IIT-R) is a technical university located in Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India. It is the oldest engineering institution in India. It was founded as the College of Civil Engineering in 1847 d ...

, before graduating in 1974. He moved to

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, where he initially started working 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 The pituitary gland or hypophysis is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans, the pituitary gland is located at the base of the human brain, brain, protruding off the bottom of the hypothalamus. The pituitary gland and the hypothalamus contr ...

, 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 Stephen Sommers (born March 20, 1962) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer, best known for big-budget action films, such as ''The Mummy (1999 film), The Mummy'' (1999), its sequel, ''The Mummy Returns'' (2001), ''Van Helsing ( ...

' 1994 live action adaptation of ''

The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' is an 1894 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, who ...

'' 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 Akshay Hari Om Bhatia (born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia; 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian actor and film producer working in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as "Khiladi Kumar", through his career span ...

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

Television

* '' Zee Horror Show'' (1993) * '' Tu Tu Main Main'' (1994) * '' Mano Ya Na Mano'' (1995) * '' Shaktimaan'' (1997) * ''Hudd Kar Di (1999)''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Agarwal, Aniruddh Indian male film actors Male actors in Hindi cinema Indian male television actors 1949 births Living people 21st-century Indian male actors