Pran Birthday Special: When it comes to extraordinary villains of Bollywood, one of the first names that comes to mind is Pran. In a career spanning five decades, Pran did more than 350 films. He scared the audience so much that he became the biggest villain of Bollywood. 12th February is the birthday of Pran, born in Ballimaran, Delhi. In such a situation, we know some heard and some unheard things related to him.
Pran wanted to become a photographer and not an actor
According to an article in The Quint, Pran’s main profession may have been acting, but when he was not an actor. Then he wanted to make a career in photography. He had also started this work in Delhi itself. After this, he reached Lahore from Delhi. From here his luck changed. In Lahore, Pran used to go to a paan shop after his meal to have paan.
It was here that writer Wali Mohammad Wali saw him and asked him for acting. Wali felt that Pran fit the bill for one of the lead actors he wanted for his Punjabi film Yamla Jatt. Pran took his offer. But Praan did not come to meet him. In such a situation, when Wali and Pran next met in a cinema hall, Wali got angry. Took his address from Pran and went to call him at his home. Pran was given the role of villain in the film and this 1940 film proved to be a big hit.
Pran had to struggle
Pran’s first Hindi film was ‘Khandan’ released in 1943. Pran played the role of hero in this film. After this, Pran came to Mumbai from Lahore. Because this was the same period when India was about to get independence. Pran could smell communal violence and riots. Because of this he left Lahore. When Pran came to India, he reached Indore with his wife and son, but despite wanting to go to Lahore, he could not go back.
When he reached Mumbai, he soon realized that his acting skills in his 20 films made in Lahore would not have any impact on the Hindi films being made in Mumbai. At that time, he even had to sell his wife’s jewelery to earn his living. However, he did not give up and spread his acting skills in Hindi films also.
used to charge fees in lakhs
Pran used to charge Rs 5 to 10 lakh for a film in the 1960-70s. At that time only two Bollywood actors got more fees than him. Shashi Kapoor and Rajesh Khanna. Pran did more than 350 films in his career of 50 years. He was liked a lot in films like Purba Aur Paschim, Zanjeer, Bhagyawan, Shaheed, Parichay, Naseeb and Don.
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