Entertainment Desk, New Delhi. There are many stories in the history of Bollywood which are still fresh in the hearts of the audience. One such story is Amrish Puri playing the iconic character Mogambo in 'Mr. India'. There was a time when Amrish Puri almost refused to play this character, but later when he was cast as Mogambo, he made this character immortal. However, the real Mogambo in the film was Anup Kher, who was later replaced by Amrish Puri. 'Mr. India', released in 1987, is one of the most memorable films of Indian cinema. In this film, Mogambo's character was more popular and memorable than the lead star cast Anil Kapoor and Sridevi, but Amrish Puri had earlier refused to play this character. He was in a dilemma about the role of Mogambo and he did not feel that this was the right offer for him. He was not even interested. Amrish Puri was not the first choice Very few people know that Amrish Puri was not the first choice for the role of Mogambo in Mr. India. When the shooting of the film began, Anupam Kher was playing the role of Mogambo and 60 percent of the film had been shot with him, but later he was removed. In an interview to IANS, Anupam Kher had revealed that the role of Mogambo was first offered to him. He said, “The role of Mogambo in 'Mr. India' was offered to me before Amrish Puri, but after a month or two the filmmakers replaced me. When you are removed from a film, usually the actor feels bad, but when I saw 'Mr. India' and saw Amrish ji's work as Mogambo, I felt that the filmmakers took the right decision by casting him in their film.” Also read- 'Mr. India's 'Mogambo' has connections with Hollywood, know where did 'villain' Amrish Puri get this name? Amrish Puri had refused. When director Shekhar Kapoor approached Amrish Puri with the offer of Mr. India, by then 60% shooting of the film had been completed and due to this Amrish Puri refused to play the character of Mogambo. He mentioned this in his autobiography 'The Act of Life'. Amrish Puri did not like the fact that Mr. India was offered to him after 60% shooting had been completed. He said in his autobiography that he was a little apprehensive about Mogambo, because more than half of the film had already been shot. Amrish Puri said, “I thought to myself, 'They remembered me now?'” Mogambo became immortal. After a lot of thought, Amrish Puri agreed to play the character of Mogambo. This decision of his proved to be a turning point for the film. Amrish Puri gave Mogambo a personality that was not only scary but also charismatic. His dialogue “Mogambo khush hua” made him one of the most iconic villains of cinema. Mr. India became a superhit 'Mr. India' proved to be a huge hit after its release. Amrish Puri's Mogambo character became the highlight of the film and his performance received a lot of praise from the audience and critics. The character of Mogambo is still considered one of the most memorable villains in the history of Bollywood. Playing the character of Mogambo in 'Mr. India' was a decision that not only gave a new dimension to the film but also took his career to new heights. Also read- Mister India 2: Shekhar Kapoor was offered 300 crores to make Mr. India 2, the director gave this answer