The Nepalese film industry Wednesday mourned the death of charismatic Hindi film actor Amrish Puri who died in a Mumbai hospital after a brain haemorrhage.

Directors and actors remembered the "soft-spoken", "kind-hearted" gentleman who was such a sharp contrast to his screen persona of a cruel, bloodthirsty villain.

Besides having his films screened in cinemas in Nepal, the 72-year-old talented actor, who essayed so many different kinds of roles, visited Nepal in the late 1990s for the shooting of a film directed by N. Chandra.

Two Nepalese actors who have now established themselves as directors in the Nepalese film industry were approached for roles in the Bollywood film "Beqabu" starring Sanjay Kapoor and Mamta Kulkarni.

Veteran Nepalese actor-director Neer Shah, who played the role of a tour operator, remembers the week he spent with Puri when they shot in Sisling, a picturesque site in western Nepal on the way to Pokhara.

"He was a very good actor, not just a good villain," Shah said. "I have always liked the two Puris of Indian cinema - Amrish and Om Puri - and I regard Amrish Puri as a versatile actor. From his earlier role of villain, he moved on to other roles, like the stern father, and played these too to perfection."

The "Beqabu" unit stayed in the same hotel in Narayanghat for a week when Shah came to know Amrish Puri, the man.

"He was totally different from his screen persona," Shah said. "I remember him as a soft-spoken, kind-hearted man fond of a joke. We are saddened by his death, he left an indelible influence on Bollywood as well as Kollywood (the Nepalese film industry)."

Another Nepalese director Ashok Sharma, who opted out of "Beqabu", was also impressed by his first meeting with Amrish Puri.

"I was to play a 'chamcha' (sycophant) of Puri but I pulled out because I didn't like the role," tells Sharma.

"But I was singularly impressed by the man himself. He didn't smoke or drink and I thought, what a contrast to the drinking, devilish man he was on screen. In some of his films, he is also shown as lusting after girls whereas in real life, he had brought his wife with him and showed her great affection.

"I was also struck by how active he was, though at that time he must have been in his 60s."