Pran, Bollywood's black gold dead at 93

Actor Pran, 93, died in a Mumbai hospital on July 12. He was this year's Dadasaheb Phalke awardee.

Pran elevated the role of villain to a status equal to that of the hero. In a career that spanned over 6 decades, Pran acted in almost every major Bollywood film that came out in the 1960s and 70s.

Such was Pran's impact as a screen baddie, that parents would not name their sons Pran, and the name fell out of fashion.

Ahead, a look at his life and career.

Pran Kishan Sikand was born on February 12, 1920 in old Delhi's Ballimaran area. His father was a civil engineer. Pran has three brothers and three sisters.

His father had a transferable job because of which the family were moved about from place to place including Dehradun and Meerut. After passing out of school, Pran joined a photographer's studio in Delhi as an apprentice.

Pran landed his first film role after a chance encounter with writer Mohammad Walli in Lahore's famous Hira Mandi market. Mohammed Walli introduced Pran to producer Dalsukh Pancholi who cast him as the villain in the 1940 Punjabi film Yamla Jat. The film was a hit and thus began a career which spanned over 60 years.

Yamla Jat was followed by Chaudhary (1942) and Khandaan (1942) in which Pran played the lead protagonist.

After partition, Pran moved to Bombay with his wife and son. He had almost given up hope of continuing a career in films, remaining unemployed and in dire financial straits for about eight months. It was then that he met renowned writer Saadat Hasan Manto who, with actor Shyam, helped Pran get a role in Ziddi (1948) opposite Dev Anand and Kamini Kaushal.

Ziddi proved a turning point and from that moment onwards, Pran's fortunes rose.

Pran played the baddie in a number of films during the 1950s and 60s featuring the era's superstars - Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor. Some of his memorable films from this period are Afsana, Sheesh Mahal, Azad, Munimji, Devdas, Tumsa Nahin Dekha, Madhumati, Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai and Ram Aur Shyam.

Pran's portrayal of Gajendra, the hero's tyrannical brother-in-law, in Ram Aur Shyam, brought villainy to the centrestage in Indian cinema. Pran's trademarks were his cold voice and signature sneer.

In 1967, Pran played a positive role in Manoj Kumar's hit film Upkar. His role as Mangal chacha was well received by people, and thus Pran is among the earliest Bollywood actors who managed to play against type.

The veteran actor was subsequently cast as both positive and negative characters, playing each role with equal ease. He played supporting roles in films including Shaheed, Purab Aur Paschim, Humjoli and Parichay.

From 1969 to 1982, Pran was the highest paid supporting actor in Bollywood. He was reportedly paid more than the heroes of some films he acted in. Pran appeared in almost every superhit film of the time.

Pran and Amitabh Bachchan were a successful pair in Bollywood. It was Pran who recommended Amitabh Bachchan to Prakash Mehra for the character of Vijay in Zanjeer, while he played the loyal friend Sher Khan in the film. Zanjeer was Big B's breakthrough film. The song, Yaari Hai Iman Mera, is still popular, second only to that other famous song on the theme of friendship, Yeh Dosti from Sholay .

Pran and Big B duo worked in 14 films together including Don, Amar Akbar Anthony, Don, Dostana and Kaalia.

Big B once tweeted about the actor, saying, "Many are not aware that though Pran Saheb played the villain to perfection, he had great sense of humour and poetry .. !"

In the 1980s, the actor accepted roles which did not demand any great physical exertion. During the late 90s, he all but retired, citing age, and only starred in two films, Mrityudaata and Tere Mere Sapne.

One of the most celebrated actors of the film industry, Pran has won several awards and honours including the prestigious Padma Bhushan, the Phalke Icon and Legendary Cine Versatile Cine Star Award by Dadasaheb Phalke Academy and four Filmfare awards.

He was named 'Villain of the Millenium' by Stardust magazine.

Pran married his wife Shukla in 1945, and has two sons, Arvind and Sunil, and a daughter Pinky.