A
Tailor-made
Villain
His
piercing,
intense
and
unwavering
deadly
eyes
made
him
a
tailor-made
villain
for
the
romantic
heroes
of
that
era,
including
Dilip
Kumar,
Dev
Anand,
Raj
Kapoor,
Shammi
Kapoor,
Shashi
Kapoor,
Rajendra
Kumar,
Raj
Kumar,
and
later
Dharmendra,
Rajesh
Khanna,
Amitabh
Bachchan
and
many
others.
No
doubt,
on
screen,
they
all
never
missed
an
opportunity
to
get
back
at
him
and
loved
to
bash
him
up
-
even
as
the
viewers
in
the
dark
cinema
halls
let
out
sighs
of
relief
at
the
end
of
the
one-headed,
evil-eyed
Ravan,
as
the
heroes
and
their
dainty
heroines
sauntered
into
the
mist.
Pran
Acted
In
Over
400
Movies
"Throughout
an
estimable
career,
(Pran)
used
his
eyes,
voice,
diction,
facial
mobility
and
body
language
to
powerful
effect.
He
could
memorize
reams
of
dialogue
just
by
glancing
at
the
sheets
of
paper
handed
over
to
him
on
the
sets,
more
often
than
not
a
minute
before
the
call
of
lights,
action,
camera.
He
never
made
a
mistake,
the
lines
flowing
smoothly
from
a
photographic
memory,"
was
how
the
legendary
Amitabh
Bachchan
described
him
a
few
years
ago.
Pran
acted
in
over
400
movies
in
a
career
spanning
over
six
decades
and
made
smooth,
seamless
transitions
from
a
hero
to
a
villain
to
a
character
artist,
playing
each
role
with
rare
finesse,
his
'extra
touch' ensuring
that
each
was
different
from
the
other.
His
Contribution
Finally
Recognised
His
contribution
was
finally
recognised
with
the
award
of
the
Indian
film
industry's
highest
award
-
the
Dadasahab
Phalke
Award
-
for
2012.
Movie
buffs
recall
how,
while
the
hero's
entry
was
expected,
Pran's
entry
always
remained
mysterious
-
despite
the
credit
line
"...and,
Pran",
which
was
also
the
title
of
his
autobiography.
His
Popular
Lines
"The
camera
would
first
start
focusing
on
his
shoes,
then
his
body,
then
thick
smoke
emanating
from
a
cigarette
and
as
the
haze
cleared,
pan
directly
into
Pran's
mesmerizing,
powerful
eyes,"
said
Ramila
Desai,
a
former
college
professor,
now
in
her
early
60s,
who
grew
up
on
a
diet
of
the
villainy
practiced
by
Pran
and
his
colleagues
like
Ajit,
Prem
Chopra,
Madan
Puri
and
their
ilk.
As
the
viewers
cowered
in
their
seats,
anticipating
the
worst
for
the
hero,
the
heroine
and
other
favourites,
Pran
would
start
with
one
of
his
favourite
trademark
lines,
"Barkhurdaar,"
"Sardar,
ye
police
ka
aadmi
hai,"
or
"Kyun,
theek
hai
na?",
or
even
"Shatale,
shatale,
mera
bhi
samay
aayega...!"
and
many
more
memorable
lines.
Pran
Was
A
Different
Human
Being
Despite
the
non-salvageable,
utterly
negative
and
chronic
bad
onscreen
image,
the
real
life
Pran
was
absolutely
different,
a
lover
of
Urdu
poetry,
folktales,
humour,
and
one
who
always
went
out
of
his
way
to
help
people
in
need.
"He
was
delightful
company
who
loved
to
smoke
and
enjoyed
his
evening
Scotch,
after
the
shootings,"
as
Amitabh
once
recalled.
Close
associate
and
veteran
film
producer,
A
Krishnamurthi
of
Tina
Film
International,
Mumbai
said,
"He
was
softspoken,
uninterfering,
highly
cultured,
a
lover
of
sports
and
games,
associated
with
many
social
and
sports
organisations,
loved
to
take
part
in
charitable
activities
for
the
poor
in
the
film
industry
and
queued
up
to
help
people
around
the
country
in
times
of
disasters."
Pran,
A
Gentleman
"He
was
a
very
fine
gentleman,
like
Dilip
Kumar,
Naushad
Ali,
Kader
Khan,
Johny
Walker,
a
real
director's
actor,"
said
veteran
director
K.
Ravi
Shankar,
who
directed
Pran
in
"Meera
Ka
Mohan".
For
several
years,
Pran
owned
and
sponsored
the
Dynamos
Football
Club
team
and
was
a
member
of
the
Punjab
Association,
the
Press
Club
of
India,
Chelmsford
Club
(all
in
New
Delhi),
Otters
Club,
CCI
Club,
Bombay
Provincial
Hockey
Association,
dedicated
to
sports
or
charitable
activities
through
the
Maharashtra
Chief
Minister's
Relief
Fund,
Maratha
Shikshan
Sanstha
and
Film
Industry
Welfare
Trust.
Pran's
Other
Side
Under
the
patronage
of
then
Maharashtra
Governor
Nawab
Ali
Yavar
Jung,
Pran
conducted
several
charity
shows
for
Bangladesh
refugees
in
the
aftermath
of
the
1971
war,
and
for
underprivileged
or
disabled
or
blind
children.
If
I
am
born
again,
I
would
like
to
Pran...
One
of
the
few
in
the
film
industry
who
would
always
answer
his
phone
calls
(if
he
was
around),
Pran
had
been
ailing
with
old-age
related
diseases
for
the
past
few
years,
but
several
top
industry
personalities
came
eagerly
to
greet
him
on
his
90th
birthday.
At
90,
answering
a
question,
he
said:
"If
I
am
born
again,
I
would
like
to
Pran..."