This legendary actor started his journey in black-and-white frames and he soon transformed into a symbol of onscreen fear. But behind the menacing facade was a powerhouse performer, whose transition into layered characters earned him unmatched respect.
Who Was This Legendary Actor?
Here we are talking about Late Pran Krishan Sikand Ahluwalia, known as Pran, who was given the title of ‘Villain of the Millennium’ in Indian cinema and worked in more than 350 films in his six-decade-long career. From the 1940s to the 1990s, his villainy scared the audience, while his supporting roles won hearts. Pran used to get so immersed in acting that people would shower him with abuse and curse him after watching his acting on screen.
Pran was born on February 12, 1920, in Lahore and grew up in a prosperous Punjabi Hindu family in Ballimaran, Delhi. His father, Kewal Krishan Sikand, was a civil engineer and government contractor. Pran received his education in cities like Meerut, Dehradun, Kapurthala and Rampur.
How Pran Made His Debut?
Pran, who was interested in photography, started his career as a photographer in Lahore. He entered the world of acting after playing the role of ‘Sita’ in Ramlila in Shimla in 1938. His first Punjabi film was ‘Yamla Jat’, which was released in 1940. Pran played the role of a villain in the film. But he became a hero in Hindi cinema with the film ‘Khandaan’ released in 1942.
Pran came to Mumbai after the partition in 1947 and made his mark in Bollywood with ‘Ziddi’. Pran gave a new dimension to villainy in the 1950s and 60s. His powerful presence in his films like ‘Madhumati’ (1958), ‘Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai’ (1960), ‘Ram Aur Shyam’ (1967) astonished the audience. His deep voice and dialogues like “barkhurdaar” made him famous in every household. His villainy was so impressive that people were reluctant to name their children ‘Pran’, while many started cursing him due to his menacing screen presence.
How Pran Became The Most Expensive Actor?
Pran became one of the most expensive actors in Bollywood from 1969 to 1982. He suggested Amitabh Bachchan’s name to producer Prakash Mehra for ‘Zanjeer’ in 1973, which played an important role in giving a new flight to Amitabh’s career. Pran was a close friend of Ashok Kumar and both of them worked together in more than 20 films.
More About Pran
In 1997, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award and in 2000, Stardust’s ‘Villain of the Millennium’ award. In 2001, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan. In 2013, he received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest honor of Indian cinema, which was presented at his home. Pran married Shukla Ahluwalia in 1945. They have three children: Arvind, Sunil, and Pinky. The legendary actor bid farewell to this world on 12 July 2013 at the age of 93 in Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai.