Mumbai, Jul 13: Veteran actor and Dadasaheb Phalke awardee Pran, the legendary silver-screen villain, passed away in Mumbai on Friday following prolonged age-related ailments. He was 93.
Pran, remembered for his brilliant on-screen histrionics, was conferred with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award — the country’s highest cinematic accolade — at his residence in May this year.
He was suffering from several ailments and undergoing treatment at Lilavati Hospital, where he breathed his last. “He was not keeping well, he was very weak. His health was deteriorating,” said his daughter.
Family sources said his funeral will be conducted at the Shivaji Park crematorium on Saturday afternoon.
Born on February 12, 1920, Pran Krishan Sikand acted in over 350 films, including a Kannada film “Hosa Raga”.
In a career spanning over six decades, adorned with accolades and awards, Pran gave a subtle edge to his roles.
He made them memorable, be they negative characters (Madhumati), an urban suave bourgeoise predator (Naya Zamana), a cynical outsider (Upkaar), a magnanimous Pathan (Zanjeer) or an outwardly inflexible grandfather (Parichay).
The actor, whose father Lala Kewal Krishnan Sikand was a government officer, was desperate to become a photographer.
A chance meeting with a film producer landed him a role in a Punjabi film called “Yamla Jat” in 1940.
There was no looking back after that as he went on to star in films like “Chaudhary” (1941), “Khandan” (1942), “Kaise Kahun” (1945) and “Badnami” (1946).
After Partition, Pran came to Mumbai with wife Shukla and sons Arvind and Sunil. He struggled to find work as an actor in the city of dreams.
As he was about to give up on making it big in Bombay, writer Saadat Hasan Manto helped him get a role in the Dev Anand-starrer “Ziddi” in 1948, which revived his career.
Thereafter, he carved a niche for himself in the tinsel town and held his own until his last appearance in 2007.
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