Great Star-Pran

Pran Sikand was born on February 12, 1920. Pran is a multiple Filmfare and BFJA award-winning Indian actor, who is one of the most popular villains of Hindi cinema.

Pran has appeared in over 350 films, including title role of Halaku (1956), dacoit Raka in Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai (1960), Victoria No. 203 (1972), Manoj Kumar’s Upkaar (1967) and Purab Aur Paschim, as Amitabh Bachchan’s loyal friend 'Sher Khan' in Zanjeer (1973) and Amar Akbar Anthony (1977).

Pran won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award three times in 1967, 1969, and 1972 and was honoured with the Padma Bhushan by the Govt. of India, for his contribution to Indian cinema.

Pran started his career as a villain in Dalsukh Pancholi's Punjabi film Yamla Jat (1940), a big hit in that year. This followed by Chaudhary and Khajanchi, soon he established a name for himself as a villain in the Lahore film industry, along with other noted villains of time, Ajit and K. N. Singh. Later, Pancholi also cast him in Khandaan (1942), which was the first Hindi movie in which Pran became a hero, opposite Noor Jehan, who had earlier acted with him as a child artist.

Pran had acted in 22 films as a villain before his career experienced a brief pause, due to the partition in 1947. In 1948, Pran got a chance to start all over again, with the help of writer Saadat Hasan Manto and actor Shyam, he got a role in Bombay Talkies film, Ziddi, directed by Shaheed Latif, launched his career in Bombay.

Then within a week, Pran also signed three more films, S M Yusuf's Grihasti, a diamond jubilee hit, Prabhat Films's Apradhi.

In the 1960s, with the character of Malang Chacha in Manoj Kumar's Upkaar (1967), Pran turned to positive character roles, wherein the popular Kalyanji Anandji song, Kasme vaade pyaar wafaa was picturised on him. Ironically in this movie Kamini Kaushal also moved to character roles.

The legendary "Villain of the Millennium" has had a marathon 6 decades long career in Hindi Cinema and is one of the most celebrated actors of the industry. So effective was his acting that it said that people stopped naming their children 'Pran' because of his villain roles, while the industry had started calling him 'Pran Sahab' . His favourite line "Barkhudaar.." became immensely popular.