Pran on his eternal journey

Pran the evergreen Villain, later Character actor and  Dadasaheb Phalke awardee died after prolonged illness at Lilavati Hospital last night. He was 93. Pran was the life, live wire of Indian Cinema of 20th Century his matinee career span for more than six decades acted in nearly 400 films was finally laid to eternal rest at Shivaji Park Mumbai.Pran ruled the hearts of youth with his catchy dialogue delivery giving life to his words with his eyes in wholesome expression.His art of smoking,creating smoke circles were practiced  and admired by both young and aged. His character in the film spoke volumes about his contemplative attitude and submergence which made him the highest paid villain of his time.

The legendary actor is survived by his wife Shukla, daughter Pinky, and sons Arvind and Sunil. The last rites of Pran Krishan Sikand, known to his fans only as Pran, were performed by his sons at Shivaji park crematorium in Dadar at noon.

“It is indeed a very sad day for us. The last rites were performed by both the sons,” daughter Pinky said.

Bollywood personalities including Karan Johar, Shatrugan Sinha, Anupam Kher, Danny Denzongpa, Gulzar, Raza Murad, Tinu Anand, Kiran Kumar were spotted at the crematorium but present-day celebrities of the tinsel town were conspicuous by their absence.

A host of Bollywood celebrities, both old and young, had taken to Twitter to express their grief following the thespian’s demise. His discipline life ,compassion for all  added with pinch of  dedication to his profession  made him legendary figure. He had an opoorunity to work with four generation of stars.

Born into a wealthy family in Delhi, Pran lived and was educated in Lahore. He pursued a course in photography in Lahore before a chance meeting with writer Wali Mohammad Wali got him a role in a 1940 Punjabi film ‘Yamla Jat’ in which he played the hero opposite Noorjehan.

After partition, Pran moved to Mumbai, then Bombay, in 1945, initially without much success. He tasted success with Dev Anand-Kamini Kaushal starrer ‘Ziddi’, a role which he had landed with the help of Pakistani writer Saadat Hasan Manto and actor Shyam.

There was no looking back for him after that. Pran appeared in over 400 films since the 1940s, essaying both negative and character roles, with equal ease.

Condoling the death of the actor, President Pranab Mukherjee said in his message that Pran was highly talented and versatile actor whose contribution to Indian Film Industry remains unparalleled.

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh said that he was an icon who entertained several generations with his riveting performances in a myriad of roles in films.

Several leaders including Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, BJP leader Narendra Modi,Sushma Swaraj, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari and Bollywood personalities have condoled the death.

Pran Kishan Sikand best known as Pran created ripples in his six decade long film career with his negative roles and character roles.

Pran played villain to all top heroes of his time–from Dilip Kumar to Dev Anand to Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor, Dharmendra, Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan.

In his private life though, Pran was a gentleman, far removed from the dark characters he played on screen.