Remembering Pran

( 12th Feb 1920- 12th July 2013 )

' And Pran ...'

These two words ' And Pran ...' have appeared at the end of the titles of about 250 films.... This reflects the immense contribution Pran has made to the Hindi Cinema. True, Amitabh while paying tribute on Pran's demise called him as ' Magnificiant Pillar' of the film industry !
My first memories of Pran dates back to my childhood, to the movie ‘ Ram aur Shyam’. I still remember I was trembling by fright in my seat when he was slogging Dilip Kumar with ghastly cruelty. Thereafter I got fascinated by Pran’s performance in ‘ Madhumati ‘ especially the scene in which he says ‘ Sorry’ to Dilip Kumar with an aristocratic arrogance and in ‘ Dil Diya Dard Liya ‘ in which he misses no opportunity to insult Dilip Kumar. By the time I was in college, Pran had made a special place in my heart.

Pran, born as ' Pran Krishan Sikand 'was academically gifted especially in Mathematics. But he started his livelihood as a photographer. His first Hindi film was ' Khandan' ( 1942 ). His trademark of blowing smoke rings started from Film Bari Bahen. 'Ziddi' was his first notable film which launched his career as well as that of Dev Anand. Pran rose to the heights of fame after 'Ziddi' and ruled the film industry for about six decades as a villain and supporting actor. His career span stretches from the beginning of the era of great trine ( Raj, Dilip, Dev ) to the superstar Rajesh Khanna and Big B. His association with Dev Anand itself stretched for about 30 years from Ziddi ( 1948) to Des Pardes ( 1978 )
A natural gifted artist, Pran struck terror in the generation of filmgoers by his blood shot eyes and cold voice. Generating hate amongst the audience by his scornful smile and sneer, his influence was enough to desist people naming their children ' Pran'. He will always be remembered for his roles in Madhumati, Ram aur Shaym, Azad, Jis Desh Men Ganga Bahati Hai, Chori Chori, Amardeep, Rajkumar, Aah, Aadmi, Munimji, Don,Upkar, Zanzeer, Parichay, Majboor, Victoria No 203 etc .
Pran was awarded by Filmfare as best supporting actor in 1967, 1969 and 1972. He was honoured Padmabhushan in 2001 and Dadasaheb Phalke award in 2010.
Pran shifted himself to the roles of character actor in the later part of his career. Being a versatile actor he gave the superb performances. But for majority of his fans ( including me ) Pran was always a villain, is a villain and will always be remembered as a Villain …..
Rightly honoured as ‘Villain of Millenium’ in 2000 by Star Dust !