A journey to redemption makes for a compelling narrative. No wonder, in many Bollywood-obsessed families, Pran’s legendary onscreen transformation, from a villain to a good man, has often been recounted with much righteousness and an accompanying sense of relief at the restoration of the moral order. As the physically challenged war veteran Malang Chacha in Upkar (1967), Pran embodied the essential code underlying Manoj Kumar’s film: Jai Jawan Jai Kisan. He lip-synced to the melancholic Manna Dey song, Kasme vaade pyaar wafa sab, and made the audience weep buckets. It was as though the countrywide flood of tears forgave him his earlier sins and trespasses.