Mumbai: 93 year old legendary actor Pran had been died on Friday night in Lilavati Hospital where he had been admitted from last month. His final rites are taking place at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park crematorium.
His daughter Pinky told news agency PTI “He died after a spell of prolonged illness”. “He was not keeping well, he was very weak. His health was deteriorating,” she added.
Pran received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award this year in May. He was unable to travel to Delhi to receive the award at the presentation ceremony because of ill health. He was given the award at his home in Mumbai the next day.
Pran has began his career as a hero in Punjabi films, made a tremendous impact on Bollywood as the villain in Dilip Kumar’s Ram Aur Shyam and was the first actor to break stereotype by playing character roles as well. In the ’70s, there was almost no major film that did not feature Pran and he was often higher paid than the hero. Pran was credited with making the role of the villain as important as the hero’s, and was known for his sophistication and style on screen.
Pran was also known for helping actor Amitabh Bachchan get his biggest break – Zanjeer, which marked the rise of the Angry Young Man and made Amitabh Bachchan famous. He and Amitabh Bachchan formed a long and successful screen partnership after Zanjeer and struck up a lifelong friendship. Pran made one of his last public appearances at Amitabh Bachchan’s 70th birthday party in October last year. He last appeared on-screen in 1997’s Mrityudaata.
Bureau Report
Leave a Reply