For years, a story about Amrish Puri reportedly slapping Govinda after the actor turned up nine hours late for a shoot has been part of Bollywood folklore. But Amrish’s son, Rajeev Puri, has now questioned the popular anecdote, saying he does not believe his father would have ever slapped anyone.

Rajeev appeared on Vickey Lalwani’s podcast, where he was asked about the story, often linked to Do Qaidi. According to the widely circulated account, Amrish Puri had reached the set for a 9 am shoot, while Govinda arrived only around 6 pm. Reports over the years have claimed that the long delay led to a heated confrontation and that Amrish slapped Govinda in front of the crew.

However, Rajeev said the story does not sound like the father he knew.

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“I don’t think that is true. He was never the type to lose his temper. He never lost his temper like that. He would raise his voice only after somebody irritated him twice or thrice, but otherwise, I don’t think he would have ever slapped anyone. That is not true. I have also heard and read about it, but it is not significant enough for me to think about as I know that Daddy would never do something like that.”

Rajeev Puri on why Govinda may not have worked with Amrish again

Rajeev did, however, speculate that Govinda’s habit of arriving late may have affected his future working relationship with Amrish. He suggested that Govinda may have realised that his father would not have been comfortable with such delays.

“Because of that, perhaps Govinda did not work with Daddy in the future. Maybe he understood that coming late would not work with him, and perhaps that is why he did not work with him again. But I don’t think Daddy held any grudges over such things.”

Amrish and Govinda worked together in Do Qaidi, released in 1989. The film is also widely reported to have been their last collaboration, although different versions of the story have circulated over the years about why the two did not work together again.

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Govinda on coming late

Govinda recently addressed his reputation for not being punctual on sets. Speaking on a podcast with ANI, Govinda said that during the peak of his career, he was often juggling four or five shifts a day, making it difficult to reach every set on time.

“Who has the strength to do five shifts and still arrive on time? Nobody can do it. It’s simply not possible for anyone. How can you manage that?”

“It wasn’t only me who did as many shifts. Nobody forced me into doing as many shifts. People would come and insist I work with them, promising they’d somehow manage my time, but they didn’t end up doing that,” he added.

The actor also joked that his late arrivals benefited some of his frequent co-stars, who were paid for the days they spent on set. “I’ve done 43 films with Kadar Khan and 42 with Shakti Kapoor. All these people, who used to stay in flats initially, ended up buying bungalows. So, all of their homes and families have run smoothly. They all earned money at that time and advanced in their careers,” he added.

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Govinda further said that while being punctual is important, it should not come at the cost of one’s health. “It’s good to come on time as long as you’re healthy. But if your health isn’t great, then everybody would turn into Govinda,” he said, laughing.

About Amrish Puri

Amrish Puri built a remarkable career across theatre and films and became synonymous with some of Hindi cinema’s most memorable characters. He is best remembered by generations of Hindi film audiences as Mogambo from Mr India, while international viewers knew him as Mola Ram in Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. He also delivered memorable performances in films such as Nishant, Manthan, Ardh Satya, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Virasat.

Amrish Puri died in 2005 at the age of 72.