At 93, and 400 films later, Pran gets Phalke

Pran, one of the meanest villains ever cast in Hindi films, was on Friday chosen for the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award by the government.

The government will confer the award, the highest official recognition for film personalities in India, on the 93-year-old actor on May 3. The award is named after the father of Indian cinema, Dadasaheb Phalke, and this year’s ceremony will mark the culmination of 100 years of cinema in the country. Pran is the 44th Dadasaheb Phalke awardee.
The award, consisting of a Swarn Kamal, a cash prize of `10 lakh and a shawl, is given on the basis of recommendations of a committee of eminent persons.
Pran, who has acted in over 400 films in his six-decade-long career, retired from acting in 1998. Beginning his career as a hero in 1940 with Yamla Jat, Pran went on to achieve fame as a villain in numerous films, including classics like Milan, Madhumati and Kashmir Ki Kali.
The negative roles inspired such fear amongst the masses that it is believed that people stopped naming their children “Pran” at the height of his fame as an actor. In the later part of his career, the legendary actor favoured character roles, playing the friend, beloved father and grandfather in movies like Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Zanjeer, Upkaar and Parichay.